Smoke & Mirrors
by DizzyDrea
Summary: Kate and Tony learn that sometimes, things aren't what they seem. And sometimes, they are.
1. Prologue

Title: Smoke & Mirrors  
>Author: DizzyDrea<br>Summary: Sometimes, things aren't what they seem. And sometimes, they are.  
>Rating: M<br>Spoilers: Pretty much anything up to Season 8, plus a tiny, little spoiler for NCIS: LA's Absolution (2.9) and Deliverance (2.10)  
>Author's Notes: So, Kate died. And I hated that. So I stopped watching. Then I decided to fix it. End of story. Or beginning of story. Whichever.<br>Disclaimer: NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles and all its particulars are the property of CBS, Paramount, Donald P. Bellisario, Belisarius Productions, Shane Brennan, Shane Brennan Productions, and a lot of other people who aren't me. I am doing this for fun and for practice. Mostly for fun.

Author's Note 1-15-12: I wrote this a while back, and posted it on AO3, but I decided I wanted to post it here as well, since this is where the rest of my NCIS stories are housed. I'd always hated the fact that they killed off Kate, even knowing that Sasha Alexander asked out of the show. I didn't get around to writing the fix I wanted until after NCIS: Los Angeles began airing (this story came together after watching Absolution and Deliverance from Season 2, and to this day I can't tell you why those episodes sparked this idea). So, that being said, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

~o~

**Prologue**

"Leon Vance. What have you got for me?"

"We found the Hummer," the woman at the other end of the line said, getting right to the point. Then she paused. The next part was harder. "And the bodies of two of our missing Marines."

"Damn," the NCIS Director said. "Any sign of the truck or the other two marines?"

"No, sir," she said. "They've been here for a couple of days. They might have been found sooner, but this part of the base…"

"…is mostly deserted. I know," Vance finished for her. "Pendleton isn't the only base that's had to shut down some of its facilities."

"Yes, sir," she said. "They disabled the GPS, as we suspected. Which probably means we have no way to track the truck, or the crates."

"True," he conceded. "But if they're planning to sell the things, there's precious few places—hold on—"

The line went silent as he put the NCIS Special Agent on hold. She stood staring at the two Marines, lying prone next to the missing Hummer. Her ME was preparing to load up the bodies to take them back to San Diego for autopsy while her team fanned out in the warehouse building, looking for clues. She already knew what the autopsy would find. Both men had been shot: double-taps to the chest; center mass, very efficient, very deadly. Very professional. Which mean their prime suspects—the other two Marines on the detail—were probably thieves and killers.

"I'm back," Vance said into her ear. "I need you in Washington. Staff Sergeant Keener was just found in Baltimore. He's dead."

"What?" she almost screeched. Keener was one of the two missing Marines. "How?"

"I don't know the details yet," he said. "The call just came in. Local LEOs found him in his car less than an hour ago and called us."

"Great," she muttered, putting a hand to her forehead. "Three dead Marines and the weapons in the wind."

"That's why I need you in DC," he said. "I'll have a car waiting for you when you land."

"But—" she stuttered.

"Yes?"

"It's just…" she trailed off. How to explain?

"This is your case, Special Agent Halladay," he said. "You know the players and the playing field. I need you here to help the MCRT track down those weapons."

"Yes, sir," she said.

"Good," he said. "Get yourself on the first flight out. Let my secretary know the details."

And with that, the line went dead. Special Agent Halladay lowered the phone, staring at it.

She sighed deeply. It wasn't what she'd expected at all. She hadn't been to Washington since…well, she didn't like to think about it. She was fairly certain she knew what kind of reception she'd be facing, and she wasn't looking forward to it.

Still orders were orders. She dialed the phone and listened while it rang.

"Ma'am?"

"Theresa," Halladay addressed her secretary, Theresa Martinez, a tiny spitfire of about 50 who was the best office manager she could have asked for. "I need to get on a flight to DC tonight."

"Are you coming back to North Island first?" she asked, unfazed as usual by the sudden change in plans.

"Not if I don't have to," she said. "I need to go home and pack. I'll send Dr Ballmer and the team back with the bodies."

"You'll need a hotel and car while you're there?" Theresa asked.

Halladay could hear her tapping on her keyboard as she asked the questions. Leave it to Theresa to catch the details on the fly. "See if you can get me a room someplace close to the Navy Yard. The Director is sending a car for me, so make sure you let his secretary know when I'm scheduled to arrive."

"Okay, let me see what I can do," Theresa said. "How much longer until you're ready to leave?"

Halladay surveyed the scene around her. Ballmer was loading the bodies into body bags, while the rest of her team were packing up the evidence they'd already bagged. Her Senior Field Agent, Marcus Richter, was still talking to the Marines who'd found the bodies.

"Probably an hour," she said. "Think you can find something before then?"

"No problem," she said. "I'll call you when I have the details set."

"Thanks," Halladay said.

She dropped her phone into her jacket pocket and made her way across the building, joining Richter as he finished his interviews. He was a tall man with skin the color of fine chocolate and close cropped hair. He'd played football at USC before joining the Marines himself, and had been highly recruited by the FBI among other agencies when he'd mustered out. To her never-ending gratitude, he'd settled on NCIS. His height, broad shoulders and penetrating glare were usually enough to intimidate even the most difficult suspect or witness. She noted with some amusement that these particular Marines were no different.

"They say no one's been in these buildings for months," he said in his typical Southern drawl.

They both watched as the two Marines in question moved a short distance away, the man trying to comfort his female companion without overtly breaking more rules than they had already.

"What were they doing down here?" she asked, shifting her attention back to her colleague.

Richter shrugged. "Said they were down here 'looking for something'."

"But you're not buying it."

"Rule #7, Boss: 'Always be specific when you lie'," he said, winking at her. She could see the mirth dance through his chocolate eyes. "Probably lookin' for someplace to hook up. Barracks life can be…inconvenient for young lovers."

"And I suppose you know this from personal experience?" she asked. Getting a grin and shrug in reply, she shifted gears, asking another question. "Think they're involved?"

"Nah," he said. "Wrong place, wrong time."

"Anything else?"

"Nope," he said. "You get something from the Director?"

"Who told you I was talking to the Director?" she asked, peering up at him. At 5' 7", she was hardly short, but he still towered over her, a fact he'd teased her about since the day they'd met.

"Just a guess, but you didn't look happy when you hung up," he said. "So, what's up?"

She sighed. "I'm headed for Washington. They found Keener's body about an hour ago in Baltimore."

"Damn," he said. "You need someone to go with you?"

"Thanks," she said with a smile, "but I need you here. You're in charge until I get back. Follow up as best you can. If I need anything, I'll call."

"You got it," he said. "Lemme go round up the kids and we'll be off."

"Thanks, Richter," she said, laying a hand on his arm as he walked away.

She sighed again as she turned and looked out the wide double doors, running a hand through her long, brown hair. The sun was just beginning to set behind the mountains, but instead of her day being almost over, she had a feeling it was just beginning.

...continued...


	2. Chapter 1

~o~

"DiNozzo, where're we at?" Special Agent in Charge Leroy Jethro Gibbs asked as he swept into the bullpen. Today was a jeans day, topped with a white dress shirt and grey suit coat. It made him look more put together than most men on their best days.

Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo stood up, fastened the top button on his charcoal suit and moved around his desk as he rattled off what little they knew. He pulled up crime scene photos on the big screen next to his desk as he spoke. "Staff Sergeant Brian Keener was found in his car in Baltimore last night. He'd been shot once in the chest. A canvass of the area didn't turn up any witnesses. We're still trying to figure out what he was doing there. He was—"

"—assigned to a unit out of Twenty-Nine Palms," Director Vance finished for him.

"Director, I didn't see you there," Tony said, spinning around. "Slumming today?"

The Director, dressed as usual in a dark navy suit and pale blue tie, merely gave Tony a bland look as he brushed by. Timothy McGee and Ziva David, the two junior Special Agents that rounded out Gibbs' team, looked up from their desks, surprised by the appearance of the Director in their midst.

"Leon," Gibbs addressed the other man. "What's goin' on?"

"Staff Sergeant Keener was part of a detail escorting a shipment of experimental weapons from Twenty-Nine Palms out to Ft Irwin," the Director explained. "He disappeared three days ago. Along with the weapons and the rest of his detail."

"Looks like we found him," Gibbs said, indicating the pictures.

"Unfortunately, that's all you found," Vance said. "I'm bringing in some extra help on this one."

"Don't need extra help, Leon," Gibbs said, shuffling through some papers at his desk as he sipped at his coffee.

"I think you do," Vance said. "The San Diego Special Agent in Charge caught the case; she's been working it since the beginning. She'll be able to fill you in on everything you need to know."

"And who might that be?" Gibbs asked.

"That would be me," the woman in question stepped out from behind the Director.

Dead silence followed the revelation. Gibbs' head snapped up while Tony's eyes widened in shock. She looked the same as she always had: long brown hair falling in soft curls around her face, wearing her usual suit—this time in charcoal—with a lavender dress shirt for just a hint of color. But it was the woman in the suit that seemed to have stopped all conversation, and indeed, all thought. It was McGee who finally broke the silence.

"Kate," he gasped. "You're alive!"

"I think she knows that, Probie," Tony snarked.

"What's goin' on here, Leon?" Gibbs growled.

"I've asked Special Agent Halladay to assist on this case," Vance said.

"Well, I don't know who Special Agent Halladay is," Gibbs said, "but that looks a lot like Special Agent Kate Todd. Last time I checked, she was dead."

"'Cuz if she were alive, somebody would've told us," Tony put in, shooting an angry glare at Kate and the Director.

"Special Agent Kate Halladay has been at the San Diego Field Office for three years," Vance explained. "Before that, she was a guest of the Witness Protection Program."

Ziva stood behind her desk, watching the standoff with a wary eye. She looked around from face to face, seeing varying levels of shock and anger, and she could definitely feel the tension level in the room rising. Not unexpected, given the circumstances. Since she had joined the team as a result of Kate's supposed death, she didn't know much about the woman. But she'd watched three of the men around her mourn for their lost friend and colleague. And now she was alive and standing in front of them. The fallout from this, when it came, would be spectacular.

Director Vance cleared his throat, the only one willing to break the standoff. "Kate, why don't you bring everyone up to speed?"

"Right," Kate said, moving forward. She could feel the tension in the room, but she tried to ignore it as best as she could.

She pulled a flash drive out of her pocket and handed it to McGee with a slight smile. He shook his head briefly, then smiled back as he inserted the drive into his computer. Scooping up the remote, Kate turned to her audience. "The XM395 is a precision guided mortar round currently under development for our combat troops."

"I thought that project had been cancelled along with the rest of the Future Combat program," McGee said.

"Most of the Future Combat components have been cancelled," Vance said. "But some of them are being adapted for use with conventional munitions."

"What is so special about this mortar?" Ziva asked as she stepped up to the group.

Kate frowned, not familiar with the woman asking the question.

"Special Agent Kate Todd, meet Probationary Special Agent Ziva David," Gibbs said.

"Actually, it's Halladay. And it's nice to meet you," she said, earning a nod from the other woman. "To answer your question, the XM395 has a GPS system embedded into it that will allow for greater control of the round in flight. Using onboard thrusters, the round can be guided to the target, minimizing collateral damage."

"Surgical mass destruction," Tony said darkly.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs warned.

He lapsed into silence, allowing Kate to continue. "He's not actually wrong. It was developed to allow for targeted attacks. It's a 120 caliber mortar, so it can destroy an entire building, but it'll leave the ones next to the target untouched."

"What does this have to do with our dead Marine?" McGee asked.

Kate pushed a button on the remote, bringing up four photographs. "Staff Sergeant Keener, Specialist Paul Romero, and Privates Kyle Heffner and Tom Roland were tasked with escorting the ordinance from their base at Twenty-Nine Palms up to Fort Irwin for a live-fire exercise in advance of their unit's deployment to Afghanistan. They never made it. We found Private Heffner and Specialist Romero dead in an abandoned building at Pendleton yesterday."

"And you think Keener was somehow involved?" Tony asked, all business now.

"Until last night, yes," she said. "Both the Hummer and the truck used by the detail were GPS enabled, yet the GPS units on both were disabled not long after they left Twenty-Nine Palms. Only Keener knew about that."

"Wouldn't the individual shipping crates have been tagged as well?" McGee asked.

"They were, but so far, we haven't picked up any signals," Kate said.

"Which is yet another indicator that the Staff Sergeant might have been involved," Ziva said.

"Which is why we were hoping to find him alive," Kate confirmed. "As of right now, we still have one Marine unaccounted for, and the weapons are in the wind."

"But why Baltimore?" McGee asked. "If he stole them to sell, why drag them all the way across the country and risk getting caught?"

"Keener was originally from the Baltimore area," Kate said. "It's just a guess, but he may have been working with someone he used to know."

McGee typed a few characters into his computer. "Well, it looks like he still has family in the area. The only next of kin listed in his service record is a brother living in Baltimore: Craig Keener."

"Gibbs, I need you to find those weapons," Vance said.

"Why aren't Callen and the OSP on this?" Tony asked. The Director looked at him, and Tony backpedaled a little. "I mean, it's not like we can't handle it. I just thought—"

"Callen and his team are currently up to their eyeballs in foreign operatives, so it's your case now. I don't care how you do it, Gibbs," Vance said, turning to leave, "just get it done."

Once he'd disappeared up the stairs, an uncomfortable silence descended on the group. Everyone seemed to be staring at Kate, who stood there helpless. Finally, Gibbs spoke up.

"Tony, Ziva, search the brother's house, see what you can find," Gibbs said, moving towards the door. "McGee, dig into Roland's life. I want to know everything there is to know about him. If he's still alive, he may lead us to the weapons."

"Look at the other three, too," Kate said, "but especially Keener."

"Why him?" McGee asked.

"Because he's the one with ties to Baltimore," Kate said. "And because none of them did this alone. They had to have worked together, so the more we know about them, the better."

"Got it," McGee said.

Gibbs smiled, proud of Kate, even if she wasn't one of his kids anymore. He turned and headed for the elevators.

The rest of the team stood staring at each other, shocked by how quickly Gibbs had come to terms with the very strange events of the last 15 minutes. When he realized he wasn't being followed, he turned around.

"Today would be good," he barked at the team.

"Yes, boss," Tony said. He and Ziva grabbed their gear and brushed past Kate on their way out, neither of them saying a word. McGee watched them go. He settled his blue suit coat more firmly on his shoulders, then tugged at the open collar of his blue and white striped shirt, giving Kate a wan smile before sitting down and settling into his task.

Kate sighed and moved to join Gibbs at the elevator. It hadn't gone as badly as she'd expected. But, it wasn't over yet.

~o~

Kate stepped into the elevator, Gibbs following behind. As soon as the doors slid shut, he hit the emergency stop button.

Turning to face her, he crossed his arms over his chest. "Wanna tell me what's going on here?"

She tried to figure out what was going on behind the mask he was wearing, but she'd never been very good at reading Gibbs' moods. Sighing, she knew there was no way of knowing how he'd react. She just had to get it over with.

"The day I was shot, the FBI discovered Ari's cell," she began.

"I know," Gibbs said. "He was running a terrorist cell as part of his cover."

"He had a second cell," she said. "One the FBI didn't know about until that day. Ari had left instructions with them to finish what he'd started, in the event he was unable to. All of it. And one of the items high on his list was to take me back. He was angry with me because he thought I'd lied to him."

"You didn't?"

"I told him what he wanted to know," she said, shrugging. "The Service is always updating procedures based on current threats, as well as lessons learned from any attempt on the Primary, whether it's successful or not. What I knew about current procedures would already have been out of date when he took me the second time, but he thought I knew more than I was telling."

"So why'd he shoot you?" Gibbs wanted to know.

Kate shrugged again. "First it was about getting back at you. Hurting you. Then, apparently it became about hurting me, too. So, they ordered the doctors to lie about my condition."

"Who?" Gibbs asked. "Who told them to lie?"

"The Secret Service," she said. "And Director Morrow signed off on it."

"On his way out of town, no doubt," Gibbs said darkly. "How long were you in the program?"

"It took them two years to finally track down the last member of Ari's cell," she said. "When they were sure they had them all, I was released. Director Sheppard offered me a team at the San Diego office almost immediately."

"And why didn't you contact us when you got out?"

Kate closed her eyes. This was the hard part, and the hurt in Gibbs' voice wasn't making it any easier. Opening her eyes, she watched the storm clouds gather on his face as she explained what happened.

"I'm sorry," she said when she'd finished.

"Never—"

"Never apologize. It's a sign of weakness," she said, finishing for him. "Rule #6. I haven't forgotten."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Gibbs' face. "Did you teach them to your new team?"

"Of course," she said, smiling back. Then her face fell. "Look, Gibbs, I know you're not happy that I'm here…"

"Never said that. Just surprised is all," he said. He took a deep breath. "You're part of my team, Kate. Always have been, always will be."

Tears began to gather in her eyes. "Thanks," she whispered.

Gibbs pulled her to him, enveloping her in a big hug. "You're welcome," he whispered back.

Releasing her, he pulled back and hit the button for the elevator to resume its trip.

"Where are we going?" she asked. She'd thought they were just using the elevator for a conference room, like they did back in the day.

Gibbs just smiled. "You'll see."

~o~

"Ducky, what have you got for me?" Gibbs called out the second he'd pushed through the door. He moved across the room, Kate at his side, stopping next to the table holding their most recent victim.

"Ah, Jethro, I was wondering when you'd be coming to visit me," Doctor Donald "Ducky" Mallard called out to his visitor. He was dressed in the scrubs he'd worn for the autopsy, and it looked like he hadn't quite finished yet. He looked up and froze. "Caitlin!"

"Hi, Ducky," she said, smiling at the older man.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. His eyes immediately darted to Gibbs, who was eyeing him critically.

"You don't seem too surprised, Duck," Gibbs said.

"Well, I…that is…"

"Just spit it out," Gibbs ordered.

"Well, they needed someone to sign off on the death certificate," he explained. "And since it would have been me doing the autopsy, if she'd actually been killed—sorry, Caitlin—they asked me to do it and then ordered me not to divulge what I knew."

Kate smiled at Ducky's consideration of her feelings. It was sweet, in its own way. Gibbs' next question, however, made her cringe.

"So you knew she was alive all this time?"

"Yes," Ducky said, deflating a little. "I'm sorry, Jethro."

Gibbs looked at him for a long moment. Then, he relented. "You were doing your job, Ducky. Don't apologize for that."

Ducky sighed with relief. He'd never assumed that the secret would stay secret, but he'd never been quite sure how Gibbs would react when it finally came out. He was immensely glad to have it out in the open at last.

"So, what about our dead Marine?" Gibbs asked, drawing Ducky's attention back to the reason for his visit.

"Well, Jethro, I don't believe this is our dead Marine," Ducky said, indicating the body laid out before them.

"Why not?" Kate asked. She glanced down at his face, which looked the same as the picture she'd by now memorized.

"For one thing, this chap's been dead for nearly a week," Ducky explained. "If your Marine has only been missing for three days, this isn't him."

"And?" Gibbs prompted.

"And this fellow didn't have any dog tags on him when I undressed him."

"So?" Gibbs asked.

"So, do you ever go anywhere without your tags, Gibbs?" Kate asked, smiling.

"No," he said. "But that's me."

"Well, I don't know too many Marines that are still on active duty that don't wear their tags everywhere, even out of uniform," Kate said, then she turned back to Ducky. "So, if this guy's not Keener, who is he?"

"That, my dear, is your job," Ducky said. "I've sent a sample of his DNA to Abigail. If he's in the system, she'll find him."

"Thanks, Ducky," Gibbs said, turning to exit the morgue.

"There is one more thing, Jethro," Ducky said, effectively stopping Gibbs in his tracks.

"What is it?"

"This man had cancer," he said. "Specifically a brain tumor. Judging by the size and location, I'd say it was inoperable. There's no mention of cancer in Staff Sergeant Keener's medical files."

"Did he know?" Kate asked.

"I don't see how he couldn't," Ducky said. "Based on my examination, he'd have been experiencing dizziness and headaches at the least."

"How long did he have?" Kate asked.

"I'd estimate less than a year."

"Thanks, Duck," Gibbs said. This time, when he headed for the door, Ducky didn't stop him.

Kate turned to follow him out, but was stopped when Ducky called her name.

"It's good to have you back," he said, smiling.

Kate smiled back. "It's good to be back."

~o~

As usual, when they entered the lab—sole domain of Abigail Sciuto—the music was blasting and the woman herself was in the middle of the lab, dancing and singing to beat the band. She was just as Kate remembered her: pigtails, studded collar, schoolgirl skirt and combat boots—topped with a lab coat—making her look like she belonged, but not, all at the same time.

"Abby!" Gibbs called out. "Got something for me?"

"Gibbs!" Abby shouted back, her back turned as she studied something on her screen. She hit the volume button on her stereo, and the music went considerably quieter. "Of course I do."

She turned and froze. Gibbs crossed the room, looking at her screen before looking at her and then glancing behind him, giving a smile at her reaction.

"Problem, Abs?"

"Pinch me, Gibbs," she whispered.

"Why?" he asked her.

"Because I think I'm hallucinating," she said. "I'm seeing Kate again."

Gibbs glanced at Kate and winked, causing her to smile. "You're not hallucinating."

"So, does Kate have a twin?" she asked, desperately searching for an answer to the sight before her.

Kate, unwilling to torture Abby any longer, stepped in front of the younger woman. "It's me, Abby."

Suddenly, Abby squealed and practically knocked Kate over with a hug. She pulled back and held Kate at arm's length, rambling while Kate just smiled. "Oh my god, I don't believe it! You're dead. I mean, we thought you were dead. But obviously you're not. How long have you not been—I mean—"

"Breathe, Abby," Gibbs whispered into her ear.

Abby shivered a little, then took a deep breath. "Sorry," she said, sheepishly.

"It's okay, Abby," Kate said, a huge grin on her face. "It's the best welcome I've had all day."

"Wait, you mean Tony and McGee didn't hug you?"

Kate's face fell. "No."

"I'll take care of that," Abby said, frowning.

"Later," Gibbs said, drawing her attention back to the case. "What have you got?"

"Ducky was right," she said, sailing over to her computer and tapping a few keys. A new screen popped up. "I compared the DNA sample Ducky sent over with the one on file for Keener. It wasn't a direct match, but it was a familial match."

"So, that could be Keener's brother in the morgue?" Kate asked.

"Seven alleles in common," Abby confirmed, "so I'd say so."

"Which means Keener could still be alive," Gibbs observed.

"That I couldn't tell you," Abby said. "What I can tell you is that our dead brother didn't have any drugs in his system at all."

"Nothing?" Kate asked. "Not even chemo drugs?"

"Nope," Abby said. "I processed a sample of his hair and didn't find any traces of the standard chemo drugs, or any other drugs, for that matter."

"Could be motive," Gibbs said.

"He was going to sell the weapons to make money for his brother's cancer treatment?" Kate speculated. "Sounds a bit far-fetched."

"Let's find him first," Gibbs said. "Then maybe we can ask him. Get anything from the car?"

Abby shook her head. "I haven't had the chance to process it yet. I'll let you know if I find anything."

"You do that," he said.

He stepped a few feet away and pulled out his phone, dialing a familiar number.

"So, what are you doing tonight?" Abby asked, bouncing on her feet in her excitement.

"Probably passing out," Kate said as she watched Gibbs talking to Tony or Ziva most likely. "I took a redeye last night. Didn't sleep much."

"Come out with me, first," Abby said. "We'll go to Sartucci's like we used to."

Kate looked at Abby, taking in her excitement and her huge grin. If she were honest, she'd missed the younger woman, more than she'd ever imagined she could. They'd all become her family in the short time she'd been at NCIS, more so than the family she was born into.

"Sure," she said, relenting. "I've still gotta eat, right?"

"Right," Abby said, beaming.

"Let's go, Kate," Gibbs said as he flipped his phone closed. He crossed to where the two women were still standing, and leaned in to kiss Abby on the forehead, a tender expression softening his face for just a second. "Thanks, Abs."

And then he was out the door.

"I'll come find you later," Abby said.

Kate gave a smile and a wave, and followed Gibbs out the door.

~o~

Tony jogged across the street to join Ziva on the front walk of the two-story row house, just as she was closing her phone. She dropped it into the pocket of her NCIS jacket and hitched the backpack on her shoulder a little higher. Thankfully, she'd dressed casually in chino's and a cotton long-sleeved shirt that day. The better to search a stranger's home in.

"That Gibbs?" he asked.

Ziva nodded. "He says the dead body BPD found is not Keener, though it is a familial match."

"So, probably the brother. Makes sense," he said. He jerked his head behind him, indicating the old lady watching through her front window. "The neighbor across the street says she'd seen the guy who owns this house coming and going at all different times a couple of weeks ago, sometimes wearing different clothes. She asked him about it, and he said he'd been picking up extra shifts at the factory he works at. Said he sometimes took an extra set of clothes if he was going to be pulling a double. But she says nobody's been home the last few days."

"So, she could have been seeing both brothers and not realized it," Ziva speculated.

"Could be," Tony said. "C'mon. Let's go see what we can find."

They walked up the steps onto the front porch. Ziva rooted around in her backpack and pulled out a small, zippered case, intending to pick the lock.

"Hold up a sec," Tony said.

He reached up and ran a finger along the top of the doorjamb. Bringing it back down, he looked at the dirt he'd picked up and grimaced. "That's disgusting."

"Tony, what are you looking for?"

"The spare key," he said as he stepped back and looked for any potted plants while he brushed the dirt off his hand. "Despite rising crime rates, people seem to still believe the best of their fellow man." Finally, he lifted a corner of the welcome mat. "Aha!" he exclaimed.

Slipping the key into the lock, he turned it and the door swung open. They dropped their gear on the front porch and unholstered their guns, moving through the house a room at a time, checking for occupants. When they'd cleared the whole house, they returned to the front room.

"It would seem that no one is home," Ziva observed.

"Well, if Keener is still alive, and if he knows his brother is dead, this is the last place he'd want to be," Tony said.

Picking up their kits from the porch, they returned to the living room. They each pulled on latex gloves and began to move around, looking for anything that would give them a clue as to what was going on.

Ziva watched Tony out of the corner of her eye. She had noticed that he seemed a little off. A lot off, in fact. Not surprising, considering he'd just found out that an old friend and colleague had not been killed in the line of duty as he'd believed for the last five years. Still, she felt the need to say something.

"Are you well, Tony?" she called out as he moved across the living room and into the dining area.

"I'm fine," he said. "Looks like one of them had a laptop. I'll bag it up and take it with us. Maybe McGeek can find something on it."

"It is just that you looked like a boar in the headlights this morning," she said.

"Deer," Tony said absently, as he sorted through a pile of mail on the kitchen counter.

"Tony, I would prefer if you called me by my name."

"Huh?" he asked. Catching on, he shook his head. "No, Ziva, it's 'deer in the headlights'."

Sorting through a stack of magazines and other assorted mail on the coffee table, she observed, "These are all addressed to the same person: the brother. It would appear that if Keener were here, he told no one." She paused, then pursued her other line of questioning. "It is nothing to be ashamed of. I would feel the same way if I had seen a ghoul."

"It's 'ghost', not 'ghoul'," he said, frustration creeping into his voice. "And I actually did see one today."

"That explains the shock," she said, "but not the anger."

"What, I can't be angry?" he asked as he looked over the pictures stuck to the refrigerator, and she could hear the restraint he put into that statement. Pulling them down, he crossed the room and handed the stack to her. "That may be why we couldn't tell the difference between them."

Ziva looked at the two men in the picture on top. They stood with identical smiles, arms slung over each other's shoulders. "They appear to be twins."

"Yeah," he said. He crossed back to the entry, pulling open the doors to the armoire that stood just inside the door while Ziva bagged the pictures. Tony riffled through the jackets, pulling one out. The tag inside held a familiar name. He held it out for Ziva to see. "Keener's jacket."

"So, he was here," she said. Tony set the jacket on the chair opposite the door and resumed his search. Ziva stared for a moment at his back. He was angrier than he had a right to be if Kate really were just a friend. Which left her with only one conclusion. "I believe you are carrying a flashlight for her."

Tony stiffened, then turned around slowly. "It's 'torch', not flashlight," he ground out. "And that's the third idiom you've mangled in the last fifteen minutes. Is there a point to all this? 'Cuz right now, I'm not seeing one."

"Tony, I watched you mourn Kate when you thought she had died," she said, glad her intentional slip-ups had the desired effect. "And though I never saw you cry, I believe you felt her loss more keenly than Gibbs or McGee. Whenever you speak of her, it is with a great deal of affection. You may be able to fool the others, but not me. You were in love with her, and I believe you still are."

Tony's eyes flashed, and for a moment she thought he was going to yell at her or storm out of the room. Instead, he deflated a little, dropping his head and closing his eyes to regain his composure. When he'd succeeded, he looked up at her, meeting her eyes. She nearly gasped at the sorrow she saw there.

"If I loved her so much," he said quietly, "how come I didn't know she was alive?"

Ziva took a step forward. "You could not have known. You saw her get shot. There was no reason to doubt what you had seen, or what you had been told by those you trusted."

He sighed. "I wish I could believe that. But if I really loved her—if I really had that kind of connection with her—I should have known. I should have felt it in my gut, and I didn't."

And with that, he turned and walked up the stairs. Ziva watched as he reached the top and disappeared around the corner. His shoulders were slumped, and his steps were measured but listless. She'd hoped that getting it out in the open would help him deal with his anger. Now, she wasn't so sure. But, not knowing any other way to help fix it, she promised herself that she would be there for him if he ever decided he needed to talk.

In the meantime, she had work to do. Taking a deep breath to clear her head, she set about bagging up the evidence they'd already found.

~o~

"Let's go, "Gibbs said as he made his way through the bullpen.

Tony and Ziva, who had just returned from searching Craig Keener's house, both looked up, as did Kate, seated at Ziva's desk. She'd been trying to find information on someone local who'd be interested in buying experimental weapons, but without much success.

"Where to, Boss?" Tony asked.

"MTAC," Gibbs said. "Got a call coming in."

Kate stood, glancing over to find McGee's desk empty. She hadn't realized he'd gone, she'd been so focused. Her gaze shifted to Ziva, standing on the other side of her desk.

"Sorry about the desk," she said a little sheepishly.

"Do not be," Ziva said. "I was not using it. And it did used to belong to you."

Kate smiled. "Here, let me take your bags."

Ziva handed over her gear, and Kate stowed it behind the desk before following the rest of the team.

"So, we're still using 'MTAC'?" she asked Ziva as they walked.

"Multiple Threat Alert Center," Ziva said, nodding. "We still use it to monitor threats worldwide. The video equipment has been upgraded considerably since your… departure; it is now state of the art."

"At least some things haven't changed," Kate said.

"I have found it a most valuable tool," Ziva said, her tone of voice suggesting she was impressed.

Kate smiled at Ziva. It was nice of her to be so kind about the reason she left NCIS. She found herself liking the other woman, even though she knew almost nothing about her.

They pushed through the door, following Gibbs inside.

"What've we got, McGee?" he called out as the group gathered in front of the big screen.

"Call coming in from Twenty-Nine Palms," McGee reported from his seat at the control console.

The NCIS logo on the screen flickered, and then was replaced by a very familiar, smiling face. Familiar, at least, to one person in the room.

"Richter!" Kate exclaimed, slightly surprised to be seeing her Senior Field Agent, and even more confused at where he was calling from.

"Hey, Boss," he said. "Sorry to surprise you, but I got some information I thought y'all could use."

Kate recovered herself, and smiled at her right-hand man, something that didn't escape Tony's notice.

"Gibbs," she said, turning to her old boss, "this is Special Agent Marcus Richter, my Senior Field Agent. Richter, meet Special Agent in Charge Leroy Jethro Gibbs."

"Sir, it's nice to finally put a face to the name," Richter said.

"She tell you about me?" Gibbs asked, glancing over at Kate, who had started to blush.

"Yes, sir," he confirmed with a nod. "Says everything she knows she learned from you. Then she taught it to me."

Gibbs smiled. "Good."

Kate's blush climbed all the way to her hairline, causing Richter to chuckle. "Never could take a compliment," he said.

"Funny, Richter," she said, shaking her head. "I'm guessing you've already met McGee?

"Yep, he helped me get this call set up."

"Ah, then this is Probationary Special Agent Ziva David," she said, indicating the woman standing to her left. She pointed to the only other person in the room, standing on Gibbs' other side. "And that's Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo."

"Agent David, Agent DiNozzo," Richter greeted each one. His gaze lingered just a bit longer on Ziva, and she tilted her head questioningly, earning a flash of a smile from Richter before he moved on.

Tony noticed the whole exchange. He didn't like how friendly the guy had become after just a few seconds.

"If you're done with the niceties, maybe you could tell us why you called," Gibbs said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Right," Richter said. "Well, as you know, Staff Sergeant Keener's unit was scheduled to train up at Fort Irwin for three days, right around the time that Keener's detail went missing. The CO didn't want to interrupt their training so we could interview them. They just got back yesterday, so I choppered out to talk to them. I also took the opportunity to search their quarters."

"What'd you find out?" Kate asked, taking the lead.

"The CO wasn't much help," Richter said. "Said he didn't notice anything unusual in the days leading up to the training exercise. He told me he talked to his men and they had no idea what was going on."

"But you didn't buy that," Kate said, smiling.

"Rule #8, Boss," he said. "Never take anything for granted."

Gibbs smiled. He saw Tony frowning out of the corner of his eye. Probably not happy that he was no longer the star pupil.

"So, what did his teammates say?" Gibbs asked, trying to move things along.

"Keener and his squad mates were tight-knit," Richter said. "Most of the unit was close, but these four seemed to be tighter than brothers. They were always hanging out, going places together. A couple of the guys said they remembered Keener and Roland joking at a BBQ once about how easy it would be to skim ordinance and sell it, especially right before a deployment."

"Probably figuring that the chaos before deployment would cover any discrepancies," Tony put in.

"Right," Richter agreed. "But as for specific plans, if these four had any, they didn't share with the rest of the team."

"Sounds like Keener was the instigator," McGee observed.

"That's the sense I got from the men I talked to," Richter said.

"Anything else?" Kate asked.

"We searched their on-base quarters," he said. "Nothing unusual about the other three. They were already packed and ready for deployment. Keener's stuff was mostly cleared out, though. We did find this in the bottom of his trunk."

Richter hit a few keys on the keyboard in front of him, and a picture appeared in a split screen with him. It was a picture of Staff Sergeant Keener and his brother with a young woman about their age standing between them, their arms linked. All three were sporting huge grins.

"Who is the woman?" Ziva asked.

"Don't know," Richter said, shaking his head. "None of his bunkmates knew either. They did say he'd been on vacation earlier this year. Spent a week in Ireland. When he got back, he spent a lot of time on the phone and emailing. Maybe he was talking to her."

"Girlfriend, maybe?" Tony suggested.

"Can you send us a copy of the photo?" Kate asked.

"On its way," he said, nodding to someone behind him.

"Anything else we need to know?" Gibbs asked.

"That's it for now," Richter said. "If we find out anything else, I'll let you know."

"Good job, Richter," Gibbs said.

"Thanks, sir," he said, smiling.

Richter's gaze slid to Kate. "Let me know if you need anything else, Boss."

"Thanks, Marcus," she said.

Just before the transmission cut, she could see his gaze shift to Ziva, that familiar spark in his eye. She glanced to her side to find Ziva blushing slight. Kate smiled. It was…interesting, to say the least. Then, she caught Tony's expression and all good humor fled. He was angry, that much she could see. She sighed. It seemed that her relationship with Tony would be the one permanent casualty of the whole affair.

Gibbs turned and walked from the room, the rest filing out after him. They headed for the bullpen, finding Abby waiting for them. She was sitting behind Gibbs' desk, spinning in his chair like a little kid.

"There you are!" She exclaimed. She jumped up from Gibbs' chair and marched over to Kate. "I thought you'd bailed on me."

"We were in MTAC," Kate explained.

Abby could see that something was bothering her friend. But when she cocked her head and opened her mouth to say something, Kate gave an imperceptible shake of her head, and Abby let it go.

Spinning around, she addressed their leader instead. "Gibbs, I'm going to steal Kate for dinner."

"I still need to check in to my hotel, Abby," Kate said.

"Go ahead," Gibbs said, looking between the two women. "Not much else we can do here."

"Cool. I'll drive," Abby said. She spun around and hooked her arm into Kate's. Ziva smiled and lifted Kate's purse from under the desk, handing it across to the other woman. "You wanna come with, Ziva?" Abby asked.

Ziva looked between the two women. "You would not mind?"

"Of course not," Kate said, brightening up some. "You and Abby can fill me in on all the dirt."

McGee, who'd followed them out of MTAC, groaned. Ziva just laughed. Tony watched as the women walked away, Abby chattering happily between the two women. He felt a twinge of jealousy, followed hard by another flash of anger.

Gibbs, who'd seen the emotions chase across his face, walked by and smacked Tony on the back of his head. "Go home, DiNozzo."

"Ow," Tony said, rubbing the spot where his hand had impacted his head. "Yes, Boss."

"You too, McGee," Gibbs called out as he left.

Tim watched as Tony silently gathered his things and left. He didn't know what was going on, but as he pulled his coat on and readied to leave, he suspected it was going to make things rough over the coming days.

~o~

"So McGee is standing in the middle of the bullpen," Ziva explained, to much laughter, "looking much like a drowned cat—"

"Drowned rat," Abby and Kate said at the same moment, setting off more hysterical laughter.

"And, to be fair, Ziva," Abby said when she'd recovered some, "you were just as soaked as he was."

Ziva tried to look indignant, but failed miserably when her face broke into a grin. "For which I took much…ribbing, yes?"

"Ribbing, yes," Kate confirmed. "And I'd believe that. Tony must have been insufferable for days."

"He was," Ziva said, rolling her eyes. "Even Mossad agents are not infallible. I tried to explain to him that we were so focused on the map that we did not see the man in the shadows until he pushed us into the fountain."

"Wouldn't matter to Tony," Kate said, taking a sip of her wine. "The fact that someone got the jump on you, the famed Mossad agent…well, I can see him lording it over you for weeks."

"Do not think that I did not eventually get my revenge," Ziva said slyly.

"What did you do?" Kate asked.

Ziva and Abby shared a conspiratorial gaze. "That is a story for another time."

The three women had been at the restaurant for nearly three hours, talking and laughing in a quiet corner the entire time. They'd demolished three plates of pasta and a whole bottle of wine in that time. It had been wonderful for Kate. She had missed so much, but listening to Abby and Ziva made her feel as if she'd been there for it all.

Abby downed the remains of her wine, and stood up. "I'll be right back. Don't tell any more funny stories until I get back."

Kate smiled and watched as Abby flounced away toward the restrooms. "I've missed her," she said, turning back to Ziva. She noticed a frown on the other woman's face. "What's wrong?"

Ziva took a deep breath. There'd been something on her mind all evening, and she needed to get it out in the open. "I believe I owe you an apology."

"Why?" Kate asked, thoroughly confused.

"How much do you know about Ari Haswari?" she asked.

Kate took in a sharp breath. The change in topic was almost as shocking as the topic itself. "I know he was a Mossad agent posing as a Hamas terrorist. And I know his motives got a little…confused at the end."

"That is, I believe you Americans say, an understatement," Ziva said darkly.

"Why do you ask?"

"I was his control officer," Ziva admitted. "I was sent here to stop him, by whatever means necessary."

"In other words, you were sent here to kill him," Kate said. She frowned. Did she blame Ziva for what happened? Did she want to? Truth was, she'd come to understand a long time ago that Ari had done what he wanted, without regard for anyone else. "What happened wasn't your fault, Ziva. You couldn't control him anymore than I could control Tony."

"Perhaps not, but nor did I believe he had deserted his mission," she admitted. "It was my intention to help him leave the country and then deal with him when we returned to Israel."

"But he got to me first," Kate finished for her. "Look, I know you feel he betrayed you, but it was his choice. He had a mission, and he decided to forsake the mission for some personal vendetta. That doesn't make it any easier to take, but it doesn't make what happened your responsibility, either."

"Yes, he betrayed me," Ziva said, and the hurt and anger flashed in her eyes for just a moment. "But not only because I was his control officer. Ari was my brother as well."

"Your brother?" Kate asked, shocked.

"My father had an affair with a Palestinian doctor," Ziva explained, averting her eyes briefly. She was not proud of her family's past. "Ari was the result. He believed that our father did it in order to use him as a tool against the Palestinian Authority."

"Which is why he seemed to have such a grudge against Gibbs," Kate suddenly realized. "He saw Gibbs as the same sort of man as his father: someone who used those around him as a means to an end. It made it easier for him to attack us because he saw it as a way to right a wrong."

"I believe so," Ziva said. "I should have realized it and stopped him before it went so far."

"Ziva, I made peace with what happened a long time ago."

"But—"

"I know, I lost a lot," Kate said before Ziva could finish the thought. "But that isn't your fault. It's Ari's fault. And the sooner you stop trying to take responsibility for what happened, the happier you'll be. You can't change the past, so stop trying to live in it."

Ziva paused, considering her words. She'd thought they had been happy as children, but she'd realized after Ari's death that he'd been unhappy for as long as she could remember. Perhaps he'd been planning his actions for longer than she'd realized. She shook her head. Those were thoughts for another time, when she was alone and could consider them more fully.

"He died at my hand," Ziva admitted quietly, bringing herself back to the present. "Both the Navy and Mossad believe Gibbs was the one to pull the trigger. He tried to kill Gibbs, but I could not let that happen."

Kate glanced across the room, seeing Abby making her way back from the restrooms. She turned to Ziva and took her hand, squeezing it. "You did what you had to do. And for that, I'm grateful. I don't think I could have survived, knowing that Ari had succeeded in killing any one of us. So, thank you." She paused, then offered an olive branch. "And for what it's worth, I do forgive you, even if you can't forgive yourself."

She released Ziva's hand, watching the shock fade from her face. "Thank you," she whispered as Abby rejoined them.

"What happened?" Abby asked, taking in the serious expressions on the faces of her two companions.

"Nothing," Kate said, brightening up. "We were just…settling some old family business."

"You weren't fighting over Tony, were you?" Abby asked.

Ziva, who had just taken a sip of her water, nearly spit it out all over the table. "Abby!"

Abby gave a huge, unrepentant grin. "Gotcha!"

Kate grinned as Ziva mopped up her chin, frowning at their friend. Then a thought struck her, and she knew she had the perfect revenge. "Speaking of our unnaturally handsome teammates, what's the deal with Gibbs?"

"With Gibbs?" Abby asked, suddenly uncomfortable. "Nothing's up with Gibbs. I don't know what you're talking about."

Ziva watched Abby squirm in her seat and caught on to Kate's game. She slid her gaze over to the other woman, who winked at her. She smiled back, knowing just what to do.

"Yes, Abby," she chimed in. "I have been wondering the same thing."

"I don't—I mean—there's nothing—" Abby sputtered. Then her eyes narrowed in Kate's direction. "This from the woman who has the hots for Special Agent Richter."

Kate glanced at Ziva, noticing that woman blushing slightly. "I think you mean Ziva has the hots for Richter. But we're not talking about him. We were talking about you and Gibbs. I'd have expected you two to be sleeping in a coffin built for two by now."

Abby fidgeted a little, then sagged in her chair. She propped her elbows up on the table and landed her chin in her hands. "He still sees me as this wild goth chic. A young, wild goth chic."

"I don't think so, Abby," Kate said. "I saw the way he looked at you in the lab today. And you'll notice that he doesn't kiss either of us. Just you."

"That's 'cuz he sees me like his daughter," Abby said glumly.

"I believe Kate is right," Ziva said. "I have observed the two of you in my time with NCIS. He treats you differently than the rest of us. We are like his children. You are…something else."

"It doesn't matter anyway," Abby said, sitting back in her chair. "He's still mourning Shannon and Kelly."

"Shannon and Kelly?" Kate asked.

Ziva and Abby looked at each other. Abby lifted one shoulder, leaving the decision to Ziva. Turning to Kate, she explained. "Gibbs' first wife was a woman named Shannon; they had a daughter named Kelly. They were both killed by a Mexican drug lord many years ago."

"Oh, god," Kate said, covering her mouth with her fingers. "It's no wonder he never talked about it. That must have been awful."

"You don't know the partial of it," Ziva said.

"Half," Kate said, absently. She wondered for a moment whether that was what she saw whenever Gibbs and Abby were together: a father with a surrogate for the daughter he lost. She shook her head. "No, that's not it. I don't get a father-daughter vibe from him whenever you're together in the same room. It's more like this is as much as he thinks he's—maybe entitled to."

"Or perhaps he does not believe that Abby could see him as anything other than a father-figure," Ziva suggested.

"Really?" Abby asked, perking up some.

Kate glanced at Ziva, smiling slightly. She turned back to Abby. "You wanna find out?"

Abby leaned forward. "Find out how?"

"Try this," Kate said, leaning forward as well. Ziva leaned in to hear better, making them look like they were in the lunch room at junior high, telling secrets. "The next time he goes to peck you on the cheek, change the angle of your face so he gets your mouth instead."

"Are you serious?" Abby exclaimed, sitting up straight. "I couldn't do that! What would he think?"

"I believe that is the point, Abby," Ziva pointed out, leaning back. "You would gain valuable insight into his level of interest in you by his reaction to the kiss."

"Exactly," Kate said. "If he's still mourning his family, or if I'm wrong and he's really not interested, he'll back off. But if not…don't you owe it to yourself to find out?"

"She is right," Ziva said. "You do not want to go on with life, wondering if you could have done something differently. Regrets are unmerciful companions."

Ziva and Kate's eyes met, and a moment of understanding passed between them. Abby started chattering again, and the moment was lost. Kate had a feeling, though, that she'd made a friend that she wouldn't lose, no matter what.

"…and Tony would be together by now," she was saying.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Kate asked.

"I said I thought you and Tony would have gotten together tonight," Abby said.

"Tony hasn't spoken to me since I arrived this morning," Kate said quietly, looking away.

"Is it because of Richter?" Abby asked.

Kate's head popped up. "Marcus?"

"Oh, so it's Marcus, now?" Abby asked. "What's the deal with you two, anyway?"

"I'm his boss," Kate said dismissively. "There's nothing else going on. Besides, I saw Ziva and Marcus making eyes at each other in MTAC."

"Oooh," Abby said, rubbing her hands together. "Really?"

"We were doing no such thing," Ziva stated.

"But you do like him," Abby said, glancing at Kate.

"I do not know him, Abby," Ziva said, shifting uncomfortably. "So how can I know whether I like him or not?"

"So, come out to San Diego for a long weekend," Kate suggested. "We can hang out, and then you can find out if there's something there."

"Wait, you're not staying?" Abby asked Kate. "But, I thought—"

"Abby, I have a team in San Diego," Kate reminded her gently. "I'm here until we solve the case, but then I have to go back."

"But you and Tony—"

"Used to be friends," Kate said, and she couldn't hide the sadness in her voice. "But that was a long time ago." Abby opened her mouth to say something, but Kate beat her to it. "It's okay, Abby. I'm just glad I have you back. You don't know how much I missed you."

"I missed you, too, Kate," Abby said, sniffling a little.

Ziva watched the exchange with interest. She didn't know Kate well, but she could see that Tony had once meant a great deal to her. She considered telling her what Tony had said earlier, but held her tongue. For as dear as Abby was, she didn't think Kate would want to talk about him with the younger woman present.

Their conversation drifted to safer topics, but soon enough the day began to catch up with Kate. The women said their goodbyes, then put her in a cab before heading home themselves. It was a better end to the day than she'd hoped for, or even expected, but even she knew the good times wouldn't last long.

...continued...


	3. Chapter 2

~o~

"Where are we at, McGee?" Gibbs asked as he charged into the bullpen the next morning.

Kate had arrived extra early, remembering Gibbs' habit of rolling in before the rest of the team, and she'd set up her laptop at Ziva's desk until that woman had arrived. They'd ended up sharing the desk, with Ziva sitting behind the desk and Kate pulling up a spare chair in front.

Tony had shuffled in almost an hour later, looking just as sharp as he had the day before, this time in grey, with a pale blue shirt and tie. He'd dropped his bag and trench coat behind his desk and settled into work without so much as a greeting. Ziva had looked at Kate, an apology in her eyes. Kate's answering smile was forced, but neither woman said anything else.

McGee had been there before everyone, only the tan suit he wore indicating that he'd been home at all. The silence in the bullpen had been oppressive, but with the pressure of the weapons still at large, and no idea where to start looking, no one was particularly interested in idle chat anyway.

Gibbs' arrival had changed that. McGee stood up and grabbed the remote, pulling up some files on the monitor next to his desk. The rest joined him.

"I've been through the financials on all four Marines," he said, calling up more files. "If these guys got paid for stealing the weapons, they didn't put the money in their accounts."

"Any idea where Roland and Keener are now?" he asked.

"We've been watching their credit cards, but they could be paying cash for everything, and we wouldn't know," Tony said.

"Ya think?" Gibbs snarked. "We got anything else?"

"No—" McGee started to say, but was interrupted by his phone ringing. He picked it up and listened for a moment. He thanked the caller, then hung up the phone. "That was Baltimore PD. They found a crate with US military markings on it in a warehouse this morning. They saw our alert and gave us a call."

"Tony, Kate, go check it out," Gibbs said. "McGee, keep digging."

And just as quickly as he'd appeared, he strode out of the room.

"Let's go," Tony said without preamble.

He grabbed his backpack and coat and swept past her without another word. Kate glanced at Ziva, who wore a look of absolute sympathy, then shrugged. Without another word, Ziva handed over Kate's bag, then sat down and watched the other woman follow in Tony's wake.

"What was that all about?" McGee asked as he sat down at his own desk.

"If you do not know," Ziva said, "then I will not be the one to explain."

With that, silence descended on the bullpen. McGee thought back over the events of the last few minutes, but couldn't for the life of him figure out what he'd missed. Shrugging, he pulled his keyboard towards himself and got back to work.

~o~

Gibbs strode into Abby's lab to find the music down low, and Abby herself sitting on her stool, leaned back, seemingly lost in thought. He snuck up behind her and put his mouth close to her ear.

"Got anything?"

Abby jumped almost out of her seat. She spun around to find Gibbs smiling unrepentantly, causing her heart to do a little flip-flop in her chest.

"Gibbs, you startled me!"

Gibbs chuckled. He knew she was miles away, so he'd taken the opportunity to sneak up on her. It didn't happen very often.

"You get anything from the car?" he asked.

Abby smiled. "As a matter of fact, I did." She spun back around and punched a few keys. "I found three sets of prints in the car. Two of them belong to Staff Sergeant Keener and his brother."

"And the third set?" Gibbs asked.

"Unknown," she said. "It wasn't any of Keener's squad mates. I'm running it through the database, but so far I haven't found a match."

"So we may have a fifth perp?"

"Or just an unhappy coincidence," Abby said. "I found the prints on the steering wheel and on both the driver's and passenger's doors."

"Means he was probably driving," he said as he watched Abby's computer scroll through potential matches.

"Based on the seat position, I can tell you something about him," she said. She pulled the keyboard to her and typed a few things in. The picture on the monitor changed. There was now a graphic showing the outline of a human body. "He's about 5" 8' and has black hair."

"Black hair?" he asked. "How do you figure?"

"Because I found a couple of his hairs clinging to the driver's seat," she said, grinning. "Longer than both Keener's and his brother's hair. There wasn't a root tag, so no DNA."

"Anything else?" he asked.

"Ballistics from San Diego came through," she said, hitting yet more keys on her computer. "The gun used to kill the two Marines at Pendleton was Keener's service weapon: a 40 caliber Beretta. The gun used to kill Keener's brother was a .45. No hits in IBIS."

Gibbs thought about that for a bit. All of it added up to another suspect. Only problem with that was that they knew even less about this guy than they did about the four Marines who'd pulled off the job. But right now, it was all they had.

"Good work," he said.

He turned and moved in to kiss her on the cheek, but she turned her face at the last second, and their lips connected instead. Gibbs froze, and Abby held very still. Slowly, very slowly, as the shock of the moment faded, his eyes fell closed, and he stepped into the kiss. It was soft, gentle, and ended way too soon.

When Gibbs pulled back, Abby opened her eyes to find him smiling at her. "Thanks, Abs," he whispered.

And then he was gone.

She watched him go, and when the doors to the elevator opened, he stepped inside and turned around. Just as the doors closed, he smiled and winked at her. When the doors closed, she let out a little shriek of joy and set her stool to spinning as she laughed out loud.

~o~

The warehouse district was a bleak, desolate place. Economic hardships had forced many of the businesses that used to operate out of the area to close. It was a perfect place for criminals to operate: there would be no one around to see any suspicious activity.

Tony pulled the NCIS sedan up next to the Baltimore PD squad car, its lights still flashing. He and Kate stepped out and silently made their way over to the two officers, standing beside their patrol unit.

It had been a silent, tension-filled ride to the warehouse. Kate hadn't known what to say, and since Tony didn't speak a word, she decided that discretion was the better part of valor and had kept quiet as well.

She pulled out her badge and flashed it at the two officers, seeing Tony do the same out of the corner of her eye. "Special Agents Halladay and DiNozzo. What happened?"

If Tony noticed she'd taken the lead, he didn't show it.

"We got a call this morning," the taller of the two officers said. "One of the other owners reported seeing folks coming and going from this warehouse yesterday. Said he didn't recognize them, asked us to check it out."

"And you're just now getting around to it?" Tony asked.

"Tony," Kate said warningly.

"It was a busy day," the other officer said, ignoring the exchange. "Besides, the guy said the place has been shut down for a while."

"Okay, we'll take it from here," Kate said.

"Stick around in case we need you," Tony said, earning displeased glares from both officers.

Kate turned without another word and headed across the alley to the door. She pulled it open and stepped inside, Tony following. The room was large and dimly lit. It was also still stacked with boxes, as if whoever had once owned this building had simply abandoned it in the middle of the day.

They stepped inside, weaving around the boxes. They moved in tandem, just like they used to, as if no time had passed. The only noticeable difference was the lack of conversation. Kate's hand moved to her gun subconsciously, and she released the snap on the holster, just in case. Near the rollup doors, she spotted a box van, looking considerably cleaner than anything else in the room.

"Over there," she said, and moved that direction.

As the van came into view, she saw the crate. It was sitting on the floor near the back of the van, its lid lying cockeyed over the top, obviously empty. She and Tony approached cautiously, checking inside the cargo area of the van. There were several more identical crates, some with the lids lying against the walls of the van, some with the lids simply ajar.

"They didn't mention this," Tony said, indicating the multiple crates.

"I guess that means we won't be tracking the weapons using the RFID tags in the crates," Kate said.

Tony moved around to the front of the van while Kate climbed up inside to check the open crates. Sure enough, they were all empty.

"Kate," Tony called out.

She jumped down and rounded the van to join him. "Damn," she swore.

"Yeah, the cops didn't mention this, either."

In the driver's seat, slumped over the steering wheel, sat the lifeless body of Private Roland. She could see blood on the front of his shirt, pooling down between his legs. Tony reached in through the open window to touch his fingers to his pulse point.

"Body's cold," he said. "He's been dead a while."

"We'd better check the rest of the warehouse, just in case," she said.

Tony nodded, and the two of them swept the rest of the warehouse, but found nothing else out of the ordinary.

"Why this warehouse?" Kate asked absently as they stood staring at the van from across the room. "I mean, not all of the businesses in this area are closed. How did they know they could use this one and not be found?"

"They could've just picked it at random," Tony suggested. "Maybe they just went through checking doors until they found one that was unlocked."

"Maybe," she said. "But wouldn't that be kinda risky? I mean, someone might see them."

"Someone did," Tony said. He sighed. "I'm gonna call Gibbs."

"I'll go see if I can find anything in the office," Kate said.

The office was near the rollup doors, with a full view of the van and their new crime scene. It hadn't been cleared out when the business was shut down, making Kate think that they might find clues to who might have dumped the van and the body.

Kate walked into the one-room office and started riffling through the papers on the desk. There was a layer of dust over most of the surfaces, but it looked like this desk had seen recent activity.

"Well, Gibbs and the others are on their way," Tony reported from the doorway.

Kate looked up. "Good," she said, before going back to shuffling through papers.

Tony crossed the room and started checking the file cabinets. They worked in silence for a time, each focusing on one area of the room. After a while, Tony glanced at Kate, standing behind the room's only desk. "So," he said, "it's Halladay now. Who's the lucky fella?"

Kate glanced at him, but he was busy looking through files, so he didn't notice. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, making her think that answering him might turn out to be a bad idea, but she did it anyway. Anything but the tense silence they'd been operating in.

"My uncle," she said, going back to what she'd been looking at.

"That's…creepy," he said, frowning slightly.

"I visited him after the Marshall's released me," she explained. "He was the one to suggest I use it. New name, new start."

Tony bristled. "Oh, so your uncle—whom you've never mentioned, by the way—rates a visit, but your team—hell, your family—doesn't even rate a phone call?"

Kate slammed the file she'd been reading down on the desk and wheeled around. "You think I chose this?" she practically yelled at him. "You think I wanted to be smuggled out of a hospital at three am? You think it was any fun for me being stuck in Madison, Wisconsin, working as an insurance adjuster while my friends went on with their lives? I didn't choose this for myself, Tony, so don't talk to me about what's fair."

"And what about after that, Kate?" Tony shot back. "You were in WitSec for two years. What about after you got out? You still didn't call or write or even just show up. We thought you were dead. Dead. Do you get that?"

"I was ordered not to contact you," she ground out. "Any of you. For any reason at all."

"Ordered by who?" Tony asked.

Kate took a deep breath and ran her hand through her hair. "By Director Sheppard. She offered me a team in San Diego, but on one condition: I had to stay away from you and the rest of the team. She said you were involved in 'a sensitive undercover op', in addition to taking over Gibbs' team, and that she needed to 'minimize distractions'."

"Sensitive undercover op?" he asked, racking his brain. Then it dawned on him. "Jeanne."

"Who's John?" she asked.

"Not John, Jeanne," he said. "She was—is—a doctor. And the target of an investigation."

"A girl," Kate said, her anger asserting itself once more. "Your 'sensitive undercover op' was a girl? And you're pissed at me?"

"Hey, we were tracking an arms dealer," he argued.

"Oh, because that sounds so much better than playing doctor with a doctor," she said. "I don't believe you."

"You don't believe me?" he asked. "I'm not the one everyone thought was dead."

They stood staring at each other, eyes flashing, stalemated.

"You two about done?" Gibbs asked from the doorway.

They both turned, jaws slack. They'd been so involved in their argument that they hadn't even noticed that the rest of the team had arrived. They stared at each other for a moment more. It was Tony that broke the silence.

"Yeah," he said, looking Kate straight in the eye. "We're done."

He stalked off toward the van, leaving Kate standing in the office alone.

"McGee," Gibbs called as he watched Tony leave. "The van. Shoot it, tag it, bag it."

"Right, Boss," McGee said, and Kate saw him walk over to the van and get to work.

"Ziva," Gibbs said.

"The office," she said, sliding past Gibbs.

"Kate, call the Director," Gibbs said. "Let him know what we've found." He looked at her briefly, then turned to leave. "DiNozzo."

"What?" Tony barked. Realizing who had called his name, he softened his tone. "I mean, yes, Boss?"

"Let's go," he said, and headed out without checking to make sure Tony was following.

~o~

Ziva watched as Gibbs and Tony headed out of the warehouse, presumably to canvass the area. McGee had already started processing the box van, and Ducky and Jimmy Palmer were just pulling up in the ME's van, but she had no idea what to look for in the office.

And then there was the matter of Kate. She was still standing behind the lone desk, hands now hitched on her hips, staring into nothing.

"Are you well, Kate?" Ziva asked gently.

Kate shook her head, then gave Ziva a wan smile. "I'm fine."

Her gaze drifted to the warehouse, to where Tony had been standing only a moment ago, and sighed.

Ziva's eyes followed Kate's, then back to regard the woman herself. "He is angry."

Kate gave a mirthless laugh. "Tell me something I don't know."

"He is more angry at himself than at you," Ziva said. Kate's head whipped around. "He believes he should have known that you were still alive."

Kate closed her eyes. So many things would have been different if she'd turned down Director Sheppard's offer, but she hadn't. She'd needed NCIS and the normalcy it provided. She'd needed to get back to living as close to her old life as she could.

"Jennie ordered me to stay away from him," she said, opening her eyes and turning to face Ziva. "She said that Tony was involved in an undercover op, and that if I came back into his life at that point, it might damage the entire operation. She said they needed the target to lead Tony to this big arms dealer they were after."

"La Grenuille," Ziva said, nodding.

"You knew?" Kate asked.

"Not until later," Ziva admitted. "I knew there was something going on, but Tony would not tell me anything. I finally found out that he was seeing someone—"

"Jeanne," Kate said.

"Yes, Jeanne," Ziva agreed, nodding. "He had been seeing her for a while, but had not told anyone. We did not find out until later that he was seeing her at the personal request of the Director, for the purpose of getting to her father, La Grenuille."

"Jeanne's father was the arms dealer?" Kate asked. "How awful."

"Yes, and she was unaware," Ziva said. "She was also unaware that the only reason Tony was interested in her was in order to get close to her father. They were together for nearly eight months."

"I guess Jennie thought there was more between Tony and me than just friendship," Kate said quietly. "She must have thought I wouldn't understand. She was wrong on both counts."

"Jennie got Tony involved without the knowledge or permission of her superiors," Ziva said. "La Grenuille had killed her father. She had been seeking revenge for ten years. She did not want anything to stop that from happening."

"So he's using Jeanne, while being used by Jennie," Kate said. "It's no wonder she didn't want me within a thousand miles of him."

"He was not the easiest person to be around," Ziva agreed.

"Thanks for telling me, Ziva," Kate said.

She laid a hand on the other woman's arm as she walked out of the office.

"Will you be alright?" Ziva called after her.

Kate paused and turned to face her friend. "I don't know," she admitted, then turned and walk out the door.

~o~

"Did you know the owner of this warehouse?" Tony asked.

They were interviewing the man who'd called in the tip. He was a middle-aged, scruffy, work-worn man by the name of Owens, but he was also a veteran, as he'd explained immediately upon meeting them, and was happy to help any way he could.

"Yeah," he said, "old Tom. He was from the 'Old Country', as he put it."

"And what 'old country' would that be?" Gibbs asked, clearly growing impatient.

"Ireland," the man answered. Gibbs and Tony shared a look. "He told me he moved here not long after he got married in order to escape 'The Troubles'."

"Northern Ireland?" Tony asked. "The sectarian violence? Catholics versus Protestants?"

"That's it," the man said. "He didn't want his kids growing up with all that."

"How long ago did he shut the business down?" Tony asked.

"Tom died about two years ago," he said. "The younger boy tried to keep it going for a while, but he finally shut it down, oh, six months ago, maybe?"

"And you hadn't seen anybody around until yesterday?" Tony asked.

"No," he said. "And I probably shouldn't have called you guys even then."

"Why not?" Gibbs asked.

"Because one of the guys I saw…well, he looked like one of Tom's boys," the man said. "I haven't seen them in a while, but I could have sworn it was the older one: Brian."

Tony and Gibbs shared another glance. "Tom's last name wouldn't happen to be Keener, would it?" Tony asked.

"Yes," the man said, surprised. "How did you know?"

"Thank you for your time," Tony said. He nodded at the BPD officer standing to one side, and that officer escorted the man away.

"So, Keener's family owned this warehouse," Tony said. "Explains how the perps knew they could use the place without worrying about being caught."

"Also means Keener's still alive," Gibbs said.

"You want me to put an APB out on him?"

"With what, DiNozzo?" Gibbs said. "We don't even know what kind of car he's driving."

"Right," Tony said. "So, now what?"

"Keep trying to track him," Gibbs said. "Figure out what his next move is."

"Right," Tony said.

Gibbs glanced around the alley, and saw Palmer and Ducky loading the body into their van while a tow truck pulled up, presumably preparing to tow the van back to the lab for Abby to go over. McGee emerged from the warehouse, carrying a box of bagged up evidence, Ziva following him out. The last one to leave the warehouse was Kate.

He watched as Tony caught sight of her, and saw the frown crease his brow. He reached out and delivered a slap to the back of Tony's head.

"Ow," Tony said, raising a hand to rub at his new sore spot. "What was that for?"

"Get your head out of your ass," Gibbs said, giving him a pointed look before walking away.

Tony looked around, his eyes once more landing on Kate. He sighed, shook his head and made his way to the car.

~o~

"I still do not understand why Keener would throw away his career by stealing these weapons," Ziva said a couple of hours later.

They'd returned to headquarters and left Abby with a raft of new evidence. But they were still nowhere on the location of the weapons, and no closer to figuring out why they'd been taken or where they might be going.

"I think I might have an answer to that," Tony said.

He stood up and walked over to the big screen next to Gibbs' desk, Ziva, McGee and Kate joining him.

"Something the guy at the warehouse said caught my attention," he explained. "Remember the picture of Keener and his brother with that girl?"

"No one at Twenty-Nine Palms knew who she was," Ziva said.

"I think I do," Tony said. He pushed a button on the remote, and the picture came up on the screen. He pulled a photo from his pocket, safely encased in an evidence bag. Holding it out, he let them compare the two images.

"That's the same girl," Kate said, taking the photo from him. The three were in the same pose as the other picture, the only difference being that they were obviously younger.

"I found this one on the refrigerator at Keener's brother's house. It was taken in 1980," he said.

Kate turned the photo over. "Belfast, 1980. Brian, Craig and Ciara," she read.

"I checked with the British Embassy, to see if the Keener's had any family left in Northern Ireland," he explained. "Turns out their mother still had family there."

"So, Ciara could be a cousin?" McGee suggested. "Maybe Keener went to visit her while he was in Ireland."

"That's what I thought," Tony said. "So I did some digging. Turns out that Craig was with Brian on that trip. I checked with the Irish Embassy, and they have both boys crossing into Ireland twice: once on landing in Dublin, and once at a crossing from Northern Ireland."

Tony pushed a button on the remote, and the picture changed. It was another picture of the Keeners, this one of just the two of them, but it appeared to have been taken in the same place. "These were on the computer we found at Craig Keener's house."

He flipped through a few more, when suddenly, Kate called out. "Go back!"

"What, you see something?" Tony asked. He scrolled back a couple of pictures, only to have Kate's hand on his arm stop him. The anger, which had burned so hotly within him for the past two days, dissipated under the warmth of her touch.

"There!" she said. "That's Brendan O'Day!"

"Who is Brendan O'Day?" McGee asked.

"Brendan O'Day was a high-ranking member of the Real IRA," she said. "We profiled him back when I was with the Secret Service. The President was planning a visit to Northern Ireland, and there was some concern that he might be attacked while he was there."

"The Real IRA?" Tony asked sarcastically. "As opposed to the Fake IRA?"

Kate cast him a withering glare. "The Real IRA, as opposed to the IRA that some of the provos think sold out with the Good Friday Accords."

"Provos?" McGee asked.

"Provisional soldiers," Kate said. "The Irish Republican Army has always been divided into two groups, or wings: the political wing, which preferred to negotiate a peaceful end to 'The Troubles', and the provos, who favored a more violent solution."

"Wait, you said 'was'," McGee said. "He's not with them anymore?"

Kate sighed. "After the Accords, a number of provos split off and formed various splinter groups, like the Real IRA. O'Day's group was known as the Sons of Gerald Donaghy."

"Is that anything like 'The Sons of Katie Elder'?" Tony asked sarcastically. Three sets of eyes turned to him. "Oh come on, don't tell me you don't remember. John Wayne? I'll admit it wasn't one of his best. Now, 'True Grit', that was a masterpiece. I'm not sure the Coen brothers are really gonna be able to pull off the remake—"

"Tony!" Ziva interrupted. He stopped his rambling and gave a sheepish look. It was nice to see him snapping out of his funk, but they had more pressing matters. Turning to Kate, she asked, "Who is Gerald Donaghy?"

"Gerald Donaghy was a seventeen year old kid who was shot by the British paratroopers on Bloody Sunday," Kate replied. "The crime scene photos showed he had nail bombs in his pockets when he died, but no one who attended to him after he was shot remembered him having them. He was part of one of those youth groups that supported the IRA, so no one questioned the discrepancy until years later."

"It would appear that Ciara and O'Day are quite close," Ziva observed, returning their attention to the matter at hand.

"I've been going through Keener's emails and phone records," McGee said. "I didn't find any long-distance calls, except the ones he made to his brother. I did find some emails signed 'C'. Could be her, but they weren't about stealing weapons. It was mostly just friendly correspondence."

"Maybe he had another email account we don't know about," Kate said.

"Have you looked at the brother's emails?" Tony asked. "Maybe he was using his brother as a go-between."

"Couldn't hurt to check," McGee said.

"I still do not see a motive," Ziva said. "His cousin's boyfriend asks him to steal the weapons, but does not pay him? It does not pad up."

"Add up," everyone said at once.

Ziva frowned. "Whatever. I am still not seeing it."

"Don't need motive," Gibbs said, sailing into the room. He picked up a file from his desk and joined the group. "Where are we on a location for Keener?"

"Nothing so far, Boss," McGee said. "Either he's left the area or he's gone to ground."

"Keep searching," Gibbs said. He strode out of the room and up the stairs, headed for the Director's office.

They looked at each other, then headed back to their desks, settling down to continue the search.

~o~

Hours later, Kate sat on the bed in her hotel room absently flipping through the channels on the TV. As soon as she'd gotten to her hotel room, she'd shed her suit and put on a tee and her lounge pants, turned down the sheets and crawled up onto the mattress, hoping to get a good night's sleep. Instead, her eyes refused to shut. Between thoughts about the case and worrying over Tony, she didn't think she'd be getting any sleep tonight.

She still couldn't figure out why Keener had done it. Why throw away a promising career? For money? If he had, the money was nowhere to be found. And how had the team gotten the mortars from California to Maryland? They couldn't have driven the whole way; that would have taken too long. And the train was out for the same reason. Which only left flying. So, they FedExed the crates?

She snorted to herself. Now she sounded like Tony. At the thought of her one-time teammate, she sobered. Tony was a lot of things: boyish, charming, irreverent, loyal, inappropriate at times, and always in a good mood. What he never was, was angry. Not this level of anger, anyway. Ziva had said he was angry with himself for not knowing that she was alive, but Kate would bet good money that he was a little angry with her for not trying to contact them. Probably more than a little.

A sudden pounding at her door caused her to jump out of bed. Cautiously, she made her way to the door. She gasped in surprise when she saw who it was through the peephole. She pulled back the deadbolt and turned the knob. The door swung open to reveal Tony, standing with his hands braced against the doorjamb.

"Tony!" she exclaimed.

He looked up, an unreadable expression on his face. Without waiting for an invitation, he brushed past her into the room.

Kate sighed. She closed the door and followed him tentatively, stopping just a few feet in as she caught sight of him. He was standing near the bed, running a hand through his hair, looking more than a bit rumpled. His tie had been loosened slightly, the top button of his pale blue shirt unfastened, and she could see the whiskered wrinkles on his pants, a sure sign that he'd been sitting, probably in his car, for a long time. And his face, normally expressive, was a blank mask. Had he been taking lessons from Ziva?

She sighed again, raising a hand to her forehead. "Tony, I don't want to argue anymore."

Suddenly, before she'd even realized that he'd moved, he was in front of her, cupping her face in his hands. And then he was kissing her.

"Good," he said, pulling back slightly, the heat and intensity in his eyes burning into her, "'cuz neither do I."

And then he was kissing her again. These were not chaste kisses, not gentle kisses, they were the kisses of a man drowning in passion, not caring that he was going down for the final time.

He pulled away from her for only the time it took to shed his trench coat, and then he drew her to him once more. This time, with the shock mostly worn off, Kate met him measure for measure.

Tony held her close, shedding her clothes and his as he walked them backwards to the bed. And when, at last, the final barrier between them was gone, they fell back onto the bed and into each other.

It wasn't frenzied, as she'd expected it to be. He didn't hurry, but he didn't linger. His hands were in constant motion, touching her everywhere at once, learning her every curve. In turn, she canvassed his entire body, head to toe, mapping the planes and memorizing every inch. And when, at last, he slid into her, it was as though it had always been this way. He pushed her higher and higher, until, finally, she fell to pieces in his arms.

When their breathing and heart rates had mostly returned to normal, Tony levered himself up and fell back onto the sheets, pulling Kate to his side. She curled against him, pillowing her head on his chest.

"We should have done that a long time ago," he said, kissing the top of her head.

"Yeah," she agreed. "But then, you'd have had to come with me, and you'd have hated WitSec."

He froze for a second before relaxing once more. "Was it really that bad?"

"Madison is a lousy place to spend the winter," she said on a sigh.

"Didn't you make some friends while you were there?" he asked. He hated thinking of her being lonely and isolated.

"I met some very nice people," she said wistfully. "But when they call you by somebody else's name, it's hard to feel like they really know you."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," he said, placing another kiss in her hair.

"It wasn't your fault, Tony," she said, snuggling deeper against him, loving the concern in his voice. "I got my life back, and that's all that matters."

He was quiet for a moment. "So, why your uncle?"

She sighed. "When they released me, they asked me where I'd like to go. The first place I thought of was my uncle's cabin in upstate New York. He lives on this wonderful little lake in the Adirondacks. We used to spend a few weeks every summer up there with him. My dad would stay home during the week and go to work and then come up on the weekends."

"Sounds nice."

"It was," Kate said, and there was no mistaking the smile in her voice. "He was twelve years younger than my mom, so she was always a little protective of him. I knew what that felt like, having four older brothers, so he and I kinda bonded over that. I knew he'd be okay when they told him the news. And he was. He just pulled me off the porch and into the biggest hug I'd ever had."

Tony winced. He hadn't even thought about hugging her when she'd turned up in the bullpen with the Director. He'd just felt angry, and more than a little hurt. Brushing that aside easily, now that they'd just made love, he asked, "How long were you there?"

"About a month," she said. "Jennie called while I was there and offered me the San Diego position. Kyle was the one who encouraged me to take it. He thought it would be good for me to get back on my feet—do what I was trained to do."

"Did she really tell you to stay away from all of us?" he asked. He'd hoped it wasn't true, because it meant that Jennie had been in worse shape than any of them had realized.

"Yeah," Kate said. "I think she thought there was more going on between us than there actually was. She was afraid I'd ruin your op by getting in the way."

"Well, she thought wrong," he said. "Jeanne was just a subject. I think I can tell the difference between a real relationship and the job."

"I'm sure you can," she said, kissing his chest as she snuggled in closer. "It's a good thing I'm not the jealous type."

"Good to know," he said, smiling.

"Doesn't mean I wouldn't castrate you if you so much as looked at another woman," she said.

"Duly noted," he said, chuckling. "So what do your brothers think of all this?" Kate was silent for a bit. Tony pulled back a little and looked at her, questioning worry on his face. "What happened?"

"Kyle told me they took my death badly," she said, sighing. "They were never very happy with my decision to join the Secret Service. They were convinced something like this was going to happen. Kyle said they felt vindicated, in a way. And they were so angry with me that all four of them said they wouldn't forgive me, even though I was dead."

"Oh, god, Katie," he said. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," she said again. "I knew they weren't happy about my career choice. Kyle and I talked about it and decided that it was best that they not know that I'd been in the Witness Protection Program. It wouldn't serve any purpose to tell them if they weren't going to forgive me."

"Is that when you decided to take his name?"

"Yeah, he suggested it as a way to start over." She levered herself up and looked at him. "I didn't change my name to hide from anybody. I'd done that for two years. I just needed to start over."

"And be connected to someone who cared about you," he said, reaching up to caress her cheek. "I think I get it."

She leaned down and brushed her lips over his before settling back down beside him. They lapsed into a comfortable silence for a time. Tony was the one to break it.

"So, are you staying?"

Kate chuckled. "It's my hotel room, so I think I have to."

"Funny," he said. "I meant in DC. Are you staying in DC?"

"You don't need me," she said succinctly. "Besides, what about Rule #12?"

"Never date a coworker?" he asked. "I prefer Rule #18 myself."

"'It's better to seek forgiveness than ask permission'," she quoted. "Not a bad strategy. But you guys still don't need me on the team. You've got Ziva now, and from what I can tell, she fits in well."

Tony pushed himself up, pressing Kate onto her back. He propped himself up on an elbow and looked her in the eyes as his hand settled on her hip. "Ziva is great, you're right. She fits well, and we've come to trust her. But don't for a minute think that we don't need you. That I don't need you."

"I missed you," she said, tearing up a bit at the bald honesty of his words. "More than anyone else, I missed you."

"Well, thank you. Thank you very much," he said, in his best Elvis imitation.

She giggled, all thoughts of tears suddenly gone. She was glad to see his playfulness coming back. She thought for sure she'd killed it by just showing up.

He leaned down and kissed her, soft and slow. When he pulled back, the look in his eyes took her breath away. "I said it to Jeanne, but I never meant it. It was never real with her; not like it is with you. I love you, Katie."

Kate's eyes filled with tears this time. She reached up and caressed his cheek once more. "I love you, Tony."

He let out the breath he'd been holding. "I was hoping you'd say that. Otherwise, I would've felt like I had my fly down."

Kate lifted the sheets, peering down at his rather impressive assets. "You do have your fly down."

Tony tackled her into the sheets, kissing and tickling her. When he finally let her up for air, he was sprawled out, half on top of her, his face inches from hers. He turned serious, running a finger along her forehead to push her hair out of her eyes.

"We'll figure this out, Katie," he whispered. "No matter what it takes. No matter where you are and no matter what happens next. We'll figure it out. This is right, we're right. And I don't want to miss this."

The warmth in Kate's chest threatened to explode out of her. She smiled brilliantly. "You know, I wasn't sure what would happen when the Director ordered me to DC. I'm glad I came."

"I'm glad you came, too," Tony said, smiling. He rolled off of her, pulling her back into his side as he settled on his back.

"You keep calling me Katie," she said after a few quiet moments had passed.

He stiffened a bit. "You don't like that."

"I've never much cared for anyone calling me 'Katie'," she said. "But with you, it feels…special. Just as long as it's not at work."

"Deal," he said. He glanced over at the clock on the night stand and winced. Placing a kiss on her brow, he pulled the covers up over them. "Get some sleep. We've gotta get an early start tomorrow."

"Will you be here in the morning?" she asked. She hated how weak and timid she sounded, but she needed to know that she hadn't imagined the whole thing. She needed him there in the morning to prove that she hadn't just dreamed it.

Sensing her uncertainty, he reassured her the only way he knew how. "Wouldn't be anywhere else."

He flicked the switch on the light, plunging the room into darkness. Kissing her one more time, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, Kate following right behind.

...continued...


	4. Chapter 3

~o~

Tony's ringing cell phone woke him from a deep slumber. He nearly bolted out of bed in his frantic search for his suit coat. Finally finding it, he fished the phone out of the inside breast pocket and looked at the caller ID. He winced. Flipping it open, he pressed it to his ear, preparing for the worst.

"Yeah, Boss."

"DiNozzo," Gibbs barked from the other end of the line. "You two gonna stay in bed all day?"

It took Tony a moment to answer. How did Gibbs know he was in Kate's hotel room? Shaking his head, he refocused on the phone.

"We're on our way," he lied, hoping Gibbs didn't kill him for it later.

"Move faster," Gibbs said. "McGee's got something.

And then the line went dead. Tony pulled the phone away from his ear and glared at it. He could hear Kate stirring behind him, so he dropped the phone on the nightstand and crawled back under the covers. He spooned up behind her, nibbling on her ear as he encircled her in his arms.

"You awake?" he asked quietly.

"Mmmm," she purred. "I could be. What have you got in mind?"

"Not what you've got in mind," he said on a sigh. "Gibbs just called. He wants us in the office ASAP. McGee's got something."

"I'm gonna kill Tim," she said. She rolled over and pulled Tony close. "Good morning."

Tony smiled. "It is a good morning, isn't it?"

He leaned in and kissed her, trying his best to keep the kiss under control. They didn't have a lot of time, and he had no interest in starting something he couldn't finish.

"Wait," Kate said as he pulled back. "Did you say he wants us both to come in? How'd he know you were here?"

He winced. "Yesterday at the warehouses, when I saw you coming out after we'd wrapped up, he must have seen something. I was still…stewing…over everything."

"That's putting it mildly," she snarked.

"Anyway," Tony said dramatically, trying not to dwell too much on his own stupidity. "He whacked me upside the head and told me to get my head out of my ass. So, I did."

Instead of being angry, Kate burst out laughing. "He would, too."

"C'mon," Tony said, smiling with relief that she wasn't upset. He slid out of bed, tugging her behind him. "Let's get moving. We don't want to keep Gibbs waiting."

She grabbed her top and pants from the floor and threw them in the direction of her suitcase as she watched Tony retrieve his suit from the floor. "Think anyone'll notice that your suit's all wrinkled?"

Tony flashed a grin. "I picked up my dry cleaning yesterday morning, so I have a change of clothes in my car."

"Good thinking," she said.

She sidled up to him and wrapped her arms around him, and he leaned down and kissed her, long and slow.

"I meant what I said last night," he told her. "I love you. We'll find a way to make this work, no matter what."

"I believe you," she said, beaming a smile. "And I love you, too."

He kissed her again, before pulling away reluctantly. "Why don't you go grab a shower while I get my clothes out of the car."

"Deal," she agreed. "Room key's on the nightstand."

He watched her walk to the bathroom, then turned and found the key next to his phone. He pulled his pants on, jammed his feet into his dress shoes and grabbed the key. He heard the shower come on as he stepped out of the room, a stupid grin on his face.

If Gibbs didn't kill them for being late, the future was looking promising.

~o~

Tony and Kate charged into NCIS headquarters a scant 35 minutes after Gibbs' phone call. They entered the bullpen and stopped, breathing a sigh of relief when they saw Gibbs' desk was empty. Their relief was short-lived. Gibbs cruised in behind them, whacking both of them upside the head on his way to his desk.

Tony reached up and rubbed at his head. He couldn't remember a worse stretch—it had been three days in a row that Gibbs had whacked him. He was beginning to develop a complex. He turned to Kate, who smiled sympathetically at him.

"What have you got, McGee?" he barked on his way through.

Kate glanced at Ziva as she rose from her desk, hand out for Kate's purse. Kate smiled and handed it over for Ziva to stow under the desk. That done, she came around and joined the rest of the team in front of the screen next to Gibbs' desk.

"Abby and I did some digging into the warehouse," McGee said as he pulled up some information on the screen. "Turns out Keener's parents ran an import/export business. We were able to confirm that the business was shut down six months ago, but they still have a valid export license."

"What kind of goods are we talking about here, McGoogle?" Tony asked.

"They imported artisan goods from Ireland, mostly wool products, sometimes local cheeses," he said.

"Sounds pretty typical," Kate said. "Especially if they were Irish."

"What about what they exported, McGee?" Ziva asked.

"Again, mostly local goods. Crafts, woodworking, some textiles," he said. "They were doing alright until the economy started to weaken."

"That's a polite way to put it," Tony said.

"You got anything else?" Gibbs asked.

"I've got something," another voice put in.

The team turned as one to find Abby standing behind them in the bullpen.

"What've you got, Abs?" Gibbs asked.

"I was trying to figure out why the export license was still active," she said without preamble. She walked up to the monitors and typed a few keys on the keyboard. A new screen emerged. "While I was digging around, I found this."

"What is it?" Kate asked.

"It's a bill of lading, dated for today," she explained. "They're shipping something on a container ship leaving tonight. I checked with the dock, and Customs has already inspected the container and it's scheduled to be loaded this afternoon."

"What you wanna bet that container isn't full of kitchy local crafts?" Tony said.

"Tony, Ziva, Kate, mount up," Gibbs said as he moved around his desk to retrieve his gun and badge. "McGee, contact the dock and stop them from loading that container." And with that, he moved back around his desk and started to walk out. He paused in front of Abby. "Good work, Abs," he said. He kissed her on the lips, lingering just a bit longer than was strictly necessary, and strode out of the bullpen.

Tony, Kate, Ziva and McGee looked at each other, then four sets of eyes settled on Abby, who grinned like the proverbial Cheshire Cat.

"Oh, we are so talking later," Kate promised.

Abby's smile only got bigger.

Ziva smiled at Tony and McGee's twin looks of confusion. She and Tony both hoisted their backpacks onto their shoulders, and the three of them followed their boss out of the bullpen.

~o~

Ziva pulled the sedan to a stop just inside the gates to the secure loading area. Every container in the gated section had already gone through a Customs inspection, and were all waiting to be transported dockside to be loaded onto the cargo ships. Gibbs, Tony and Kate piled out and stepped around to the trunk, which Ziva had popped before climbing out of the car herself.

"Next time, I drive," Tony muttered as he lifted the lid on the trunk.

"I do not understand why you complain about my driving, Tony," Ziva said. "You are still alive."

"Ziva," Tony said, "this is not 'The Italian Job'. We aren't being chased. The least you could do is obey the speed limit."

"And where is the fun in that?" she said, glancing over to Kate and winking.

"Knock it off, DiNozzo," Gibbs said.

He reached into the trunk and pulled out a Kevlar vest, pulling it over his head as the rest of the team did the same.

"How do you want to play this, Boss?" Tony asked, returning to business.

Kate pulled a map from the pocket of her jacket, now laying on the fender. Unfolding it, she examined it for a moment. "The Dock Supervisor said that the container is here." She pointed to the map, indicating where the container was stored before being transported to the ship for loading.

Gibbs looked over the map, digesting the logistics. "Tony, you and Ziva approach from this direction," he said, tracing a path with his finger. "Kate, you're with me."

Tony looked at Kate. "Be careful," he said. Catching Gibbs' frown, he amended his statement. "Both of you."

Gibbs smirked, then said to Kate, "Let's go."

Ziva and Tony headed off, intent on swinging around and approaching the container from the other side, just in case Keener was there and decided to run. Kate followed Gibbs straight through the forest of containers, headed straight for the one that they were looking for.

As they drew closer, they could hear angry shouting. They moved as one behind a container just one row over, both drawing their guns. Kate slipped in behind Gibbs, who poked his head around the container, trying to get a look at the situation. It didn't sound good to her. She could make out two voices, though there could be others, and they seemed to be arguing.

Gibbs pulled his head back and turned to Kate, holding up two fingers to indicate how many subjects he'd seen. Kate nodded. It confirmed her suspicions. He indicated to her to swing around him and move up the other side of the aisle. Ducking his head around the container one more time, he spotted Ziva on the other side of the container. He nodded to her, then turned and motioned for Kate to get moving.

She swung out, and Gibbs moved along the container, mirroring her movements. They cleared the container and raised their guns. Both men were standing in front of the container, which had been opened, the Customs lock laying on the ground next to the container. Neither man was aware of the Agents closing in on them.

"Freeze! Federal Agents!" Gibbs called out.

Both men stopped and turned as one. The taller of the two pulled his gun and fired two shots at him, which both went wide. Then, he took off at a dead run, Tony and Ziva following. The other man, Staff Sergeant Keener, stood frozen in place.

"Don't move!" Kate yelled, though it seemed unnecessary.

She covered him while Gibbs moved in and spun him around. "Hands on the container," he said. He searched the man, finding no gun. He pulled his handcuffs out of the holster at the small of his back and slapped it over one wrist, pulling that arm down behind the suspect.

"Staff Sergeant Brian Keener, you are under arrest," Kate said as she watched Gibbs work.

With the suspect pinned to the wall, he pulled his other arm down and locked the cuffs around that wrist.

"You got this?" Kate asked.

Gibbs nodded. "Go."

He pulled the man away from the container as Kate took off at a run, following Tony and Ziva into the maze of containers. Spinning the young man around, he tugged him around the door to the container, peering inside to get a look at the contents.

The lids on several of the shipping crates had been popped off, and the contents were in slight disarray. But there was no mistaking what had been put inside: the missing mortars.

Gibbs turned to the man in question. Staff Sergeant Keener looked like a man defeated. He stood with his head down and shoulders slumped. Gibbs tugged his cell phone from his belt and called headquarters. Then he pulled the doors to the container closed and secured them as best he could. They'd need to get someone to guard the container until the Marines could come collect the weapons.

"Let's go," he finally said to Keener.

~o~

Tony and Ziva wove between the containers, catching glimpses of their prey as he whipped around corners ahead of them. Suddenly, the man stopped and took two shots at them. Both Tony and Ziva ducked back behind a container to avoid the bullets. When they moved back out into the aisle, they caught sight of the man just as he disappeared around another corner.

Tony looked up. "I'm goin' up top," he told Ziva as he holstered his gun and started to climb the nearest container. "I'll see if I can get ahead of him while you come in from behind."

He made it to the top of the container, rolling from his stomach onto his back at the same time he pulled his gun. He scrambled up and moved in the direction he'd last seen their suspect, just as Kate came around the corner.

"Where'd Tony go?" she asked Ziva.

Ziva pointed up. Kate followed her hand upwards and saw Tony running along the top of the container, then leaping from one to the next.

"Right," Kate said, looking back down at Ziva. "Let's go."

She and Ziva ran down the aisle, intent on catching up to the suspect before he found a way out of the Customs yard. They moved quickly in the same direction Tony had gone, trying to keep him in sight. Finally, they caught sight of the perp going around a corner near the edge of the yard.

Ziva called to Kate. "I will try to cut him off."

Kate nodded and raced ahead. She turned one more corner, and hit a dead end. She backtracked, catching sight of Tony above her. She followed him along the container, then moved ahead and turned a corner. She could hear footsteps, but couldn't tell where exactly they were coming from. She slowed, peering carefully around the corner of the container she was leaning against. She saw movement, and ducked back quickly.

Then, several things happened at the same time. Kate heard a sound behind her, and swung around, gun raised, to find their suspect taking aim at her. Before she could squeeze the trigger, a shot rang out at the same moment that Tony dropped down next to him.

Kate saw the suspect drop to the ground, writhing in pain. She glanced down at her own vest, but she hadn't been shot. It was then that Ziva came out from behind the next container over, her gun still raised.

Tony kicked the suspect's gun away, and Ziva picked it up before moving closer. She lowered her gun and pulled her handcuffs.

"Would you like to, or shall I?" she asked.

"By all means, Ziva," Tony said, waving a hand at their suspect.

Kate jogged up while Ziva cuffed him, despite his rather loud protests. She dragged him to his feet, and Kate could see clearly that Ziva's shot merely grazed his arm.

"Oh, shut up," Ziva said, exasperated. "It is only a flesh wound."

"You shot me, you bitch," he continued to protest. His voice carried an obvious Irish accent, confirming their suspicions.

"I think you'll live," Tony said.

He grabbed the man's uninjured arm and began dragging him back towards the front of the yard, Kate and Ziva following.

"Nice shot," Kate said.

Ziva smiled, hearing the gratitude behind the words. "Thank you."

They marched their suspect back towards the car, enduring his loud protests the whole way.

"If you do not shut up, I will shoot you again," Ziva finally said. "And this time, it will be someplace far more important."

"And if she doesn't, I will," Kate added.

That shut him up. Tony cast a smirk back towards the two women, who simply smiled unrepentantly.

~o~

McGee and Ziva stood in the observation room, looking through the glass as Tony, with his back to them, questioned Staff Sergeant Keener. The Staff Sergeant sat quietly, cuffed hands in front of him on the table, not looking up at all. He gave every appearance of a man who knew his life was over.

"Want to tell me what happened?" Tony asked quietly. He'd realized fairly quickly that Keener wouldn't give him much trouble, so there was little point playing bad cop with him.

Keener sighed and looked up, finally meeting Tony's eyes. "Craig asked me to do it," he said, and Ziva and McGee could both see the tears gathering in his eyes. "I think he's always been a little in love with Ciara. We met up with her and her boyfriend last year in Ireland, and when she called him after we'd gotten home, he was eager to do anything she wanted."

"Did you know he was dying?" Tony asked.

"Yeah," Keener said. "That's part of the reason I did it. I knew I wasn't going to have him around much longer. I wanted to make him happy."

"So you commit treason?" Tony asked. "That doesn't sound very smart."

"Do you have a brother, Special Agent DiNozzo?" he asked.

"No, I don't," Tony said.

"Well, I'd have done anything for my brother," he said.

Ziva cringed as she watched through the glass. Devotion to his brother had cost him a lot. She wasn't as unfamiliar with that feeling as she'd like to be, and she knew it.

Tony sighed. "What happened to your team?"

Keener cringed. "We'd always talked about doing this, like it was some big adventure. But after we'd actually done it, Romero and Heffner got cold feet. We argued, and then Heffner said he was going to turn himself in. Said he didn't sign up for this."

"So you shot him?" Tony asked.

"Yeah," Keener said.

"And Romero?" Tony asked. "Did you shoot him, too?"

"Yeah," Keener said, more quietly this time.

"What about Private Roland?" Tony asked after a bit.

Keener's head popped up. "I didn't shoot him. That's not on me."

"You saying it was your partner?"

"Yeah," Keener said. "Paddy shot him. Roland was pissed because he thought Paddy was gonna shaft him on the money."

"Were you getting paid, too?" Tony asked.

"It wasn't about the money," Keener said, "but, yeah, we were all supposed to get paid."

"And your brother?" Tony asked quietly.

"Paddy killed him, too," Keener said, his voice breaking slightly. "He said Brendan told him to tie up any loose ends."

"And your brother was a loose end." It was a statement, not a question. "How'd you get the ordinance from California to Baltimore?"

"Paddy had a contact," Keener said, looking down. "A guy with a plane who wouldn't ask questions. He flew us out here three days ago. I don't know what happened to him after that."

Tony looked at Keener for a long moment. "Okay. Sit tight. We're gonna need to talk to you again later."

"I'll tell you everything you want to know," Keener said, looking up at Tony.

Tony got up and moved to the door, quietly shutting it behind him. McGee and Ziva joined him in the hall.

"After you left, I checked Craig's phone records. I found calls from his home and cell phone to and from Ireland over the last eight months," McGee told them, holding up a folder with the phone records in it.

"Then he is telling the truth," Ziva said. "At least about his brother."

"Small consolation," Tony said.

"Abby finished the ballistics on the gun his partner was using," McGee said as they moved down the hallway towards the other interrogation room. "It's a .45, and it matches the gun used to kill Roland and Craig Keener."

"So it was the partner who killed his brother," Ziva said as they entered the observation room. Seated at the table facing them, his shackled hands resting on the table and a smug look on his face, sat their other suspect.

"Keener seemed adamant that he hadn't killed Roland," Tony said. "I believe him."

The door opened behind them, and Kate slipped through. She joined the rest of the team at the window.

"His name is Palladin St John," she said, without prompting. "But he goes by Paddy. He's Brendan O'Day's top lieutenant."

"Well, there's your connection," Tony said. "Smug Irish bastard."

"He's not Irish," Kate said. "His mother was French, but his father was a British soldier stationed in Northern Ireland during 'The Troubles'. He was killed in the sectarian violence."

"Okay," McGee said, sounding confused. "Then why did he join the provos?"

Kate shrugged. "He grew up bouncing back and forth between France and England, but no one seems to know why he took up with the provos. His family was Protestant, with no ties we could ever find to Ireland."

Just then, Gibbs entered the interrogation room. He sat down with his back to the window and set a file down on the table, lacing his fingers together in front of him, silently taking the measure of the man he was facing.

"This ought to be fun," Tony snarked.

None of the others could disagree.

~o~

"So, what can I do for you, boyo?" St. John asked, smug expression and Irish accent still firmly in place.

"You can cut the act, for one," Gibbs said. He flipped his file open, perusing the ballistics information Abby had supplied.

St. John chuckled. "You Yanks and your Hollywood. You think everything's a film."

"You're not Irish, Mr. St. John," Gibbs said, looking up to meet his eyes. "Your mother was French and your father was a British paratrooper. I know the accent's phony, so cut the crap."

St. John's expression soured. "Fine," he said in more clipped British tones. "What would you like me to tell you?"

Gibbs smirked. "For starters, what you were doing in the secured Customs area of the port? No one's allowed in there except authorized personnel."

"You Yanks don't secure things very well," he said. The smug look returned full force.

"Did you know that there were surveillance cameras on the front gate?" Gibbs asked. "They've got a really good picture of you popping the lock on the front gate."

St. John shrugged. "I suppose this is where you tell me that I'm in real trouble?"

"Yep," Gibbs said. He closed the file and folded his hands on top of it, leveling the other man with a hard gaze. "We have your gun. The one you used to kill Private Roland and Craig Keener. And we have the testimony of your accomplice."

"Keener's a git," St. John sneered. "He'd give up his own mother if he thought it'd keep him out of trouble. Besides, if that's all you've got, I'll walk easy."

"How do you figure?" Gibbs asked, genuinely curious.

St. John leaned forward. "Eye witnesses are tricky, you know? They forget, get details wrong. Hard to make a case when you only have one witness. And how do you know I was the one to pull the trigger? I could have just been holding the gun for your Staff Sergeant."

Gibbs leaned back. "If that's all you've got, you're going to have to work a little harder."

"How do you figure?" St. John asked, leaning back, mirroring Gibbs' position and words.

Gibbs pointed at the other man. "You know those clothes you so happily gave up when you arrived?"

St. John looked down at the sweats he was currently wearing, then back up at Gibbs. "I'd like them back when you're done. These aren't really my style."

"Well, you're gonna have to get used to ugly clothes from now on," Gibbs said, chuckling. "Those clothes you're so fond of had gun powder residue and blood from Private Roland. Those two things only get there if you pulled the trigger."

"Still doesn't mean I did it," St. John said, though his tone held less conviction than before.

"You're going down for this, Paddy," Gibbs said, leaning forward again. "The only question is, how hard. It doesn't have to be tough. Tell us what happened. I can see to it that the US Attorney cuts you a deal."

"You Yanks and your funny ideas of justice," he said dismissively. "I'm not helping you do your job. Either you've got evidence or you don't. Either way, I suspect I'll be on my way home in no time."

"I've already spoken to the British Ambassador," Gibbs revealed, surprising St. John. "He's inclined to let you rot. Seems you've been a thorn in the British government's side for longer than they'd have liked. It's not looking good for you."

St. John shrugged, but it held little of the bravado from just a few moments ago. "Do your worst, Special Agent Gibbs. I've got nothing to fear."

"Suit yourself," Gibbs said, shrugging as he rose. He leaned in close, almost whispering to the other man. "But if you think your provo pals are gonna be able to bail you out, think again. They have no reach here. And even if they did, why would they want to bail out a spoiled English brat who's playing at cops and robbers?"

With that, Gibbs strode out of the room, leaving their suspect utterly speechless and wondering what had just happened.

~o~

Tony chuckled as he watched Gibbs leave the room. "Bet he doesn't know what just hit him."

"The Ambassador was so grateful we'd arrested him that he promised the Director and Gibbs a bottle of single malt scotch," McGee said. "Each."

Tony whistled. "Nice."

"It will not bring Staff Sergeant Keener's brother back, but at least we know he will be held accountable for his crimes," Ziva said.

"And some dangerous munitions have been kept out of the hands of terrorists," Kate said. "That's the way it's supposed to turn out. Whatever happens to St. John from now on is just icing on the cake."

"Well, I'm gonna go get a head start on my report," McGee said. "This one's gonna take forever."

McGee walked across the observation room and opened the door. Kate followed, pulling her cell phone out of her jacket pocket as she slipped out the door. When Ziva turned to follow, she was stopped by Tony's voice.

"Thanks, Ziva," he said.

She cocked her head. "For what?"

Tony's eyes flicked to the door, then back to her. He stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Just thanks."

Ziva frowned, then her face cleared and she smiled knowingly. "You are welcome."

Then she moved through the door, leaving Tony alone in the room. He turned and looked back at their suspect, who was still sitting in the interrogation room. He hated what the man stood for, and what he'd done and been about to do. But because of him—because of this case—Tony had reconnected with Kate. St. John may not have known it, but at least some good had come out of the whole situation.

Tony took a deep breath and turned from the window, heading for his desk and his own reports.

~o~

The mood at Sartucci's was especially good that night. They'd stopped a shipment of arms to a known terrorist organization, and even though it had been one of their own who'd been responsible, in the end he would face justice. That was all any of them could ask for.

The whole team had joined the celebration, including Gibbs, much to Tim and Tony's surprise. Kate and Ziva, however, were not surprised at all. Considering that Abby had joined them, neither of the women were at all surprised to find the boss at their table, seated right next to Abby with his arm over the back of her chair. He was even smiling.

The sight of a smiling Gibbs still unnerved Tony, but he supposed he could get used to it. Especially since he had Kate seated right next to him, leaning into him as she sipped her wine.

It had been a rough week, but the team was enjoying the celebration. Even Ducky and Jimmy Palmer had come out to join the group. They'd laughed and told stories until their sides hurt. It had been wonderful, but eventually the evening had to end.

Kate had scheduled herself on the red-eye back to California, so she excused herself early. Tony followed Kate out of the restaurant, catching up to her just a few feet out of the door.

"Wait," he said, hooking her elbow with his hand.

She stopped and turned around. She knew it would only get harder if she faced him, but ignoring him wasn't an option.

"What is it, Tony?" she asked.

"Stay," he said, pleading with his eyes.

"Tony, we've talked about this," she said.

It pained her, but she'd already given him every argument she could think of for why she wasn't staying in DC. It seemed he wasn't getting the message.

"I don't mean 'stay'," he said. "Well, yes, technically, I do. But right now, I mean stay the weekend. You don't have to fly back tonight. Stay with me. You can come in on Monday to file your report and then fly out."

"Tony," she said exasperated. She was on the edge of giving in, and she knew he knew it.

"Please," he said, stepping closer. "I can't let you go yet. Don't ask me to."

That put her over the edge. "Okay. I'll change my flight."

"Yes!" Tony exclaimed quietly, pumping a fist as he turned her around and guided her to his car.

"You don't have to gloat," she said.

"Not gloating," he said, schooling his face into a more serious mask.

They arrived at his car, and he helped her inside before jogging around to the driver's side. He slipped behind the wheel while Kate pulled out her phone and tapped a few keys.

"Changing your flight?" he asked hopefully.

Kate smiled. "Texting Theresa to have her take care of it. I'm afraid she'll reach through the phone and strangle me if I call her one more time."

"You really like it out there, don't you?" he asked, subdued.

Kate looked at him, and saw the wistfulness on his face. "Yeah, I do. They're a great team, and the weather in San Diego is nice. But this'll always be home."

Tony smiled, another of his high-wattage smiles that always took her breath away. "C'mon. I'll take you by the hotel so you can grab your stuff and check out."

"I'm not gonna regret this, am I?" she asked. He frowned, so she elaborated. "I mean, you live alone. There aren't dirty socks and used condoms laying around?"

"Kate, you wound me," he said, winking. "I'm not that bad. I have a cleaning lady that comes once a week."

"You do?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I do," he confirmed. "What, you think I like living in a pigsty?"

"No, but you're a bachelor," she said. "Before they got married, my brothers had to be threatened with a visit from the health department before they'd clean their apartments."

"Well, I'm not your brothers," he said.

The look in his eyes nearly stole her breath. There was such love and acceptance that she could hardly believe it. It made her wonder, really wonder, what she was doing going back to California. How could she leave this?

"No, you're not," she whispered. She cupped his cheek with her hand and leaned over to kiss him. She leaned back and smiled at him. "Let's go. I'm more than a little curious to see what your place looks like."

Tony smiled. "You're gonna love it."

He guided his car out into traffic as he began to talk about some of the things they could do with their time over the next couple of days. He still held out hope that he could convince her to stay longer than just the weekend. But right now, he'd take what he could get.

...continued...


	5. Epilogue

Notes and disclaimer in Prologue

~o~

Epilogue

Tony and Kate walked into the bullpen together on Monday morning, early for a change, since they both knew their reports weren't going to write themselves.

"Kate!" McGee exclaimed when he caught sight of her. "What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you, too, Tim," Kate said sarcastically.

"Sorry," he said. "It's just, I thought you were headed back to California on Friday."

"I was," Kate said, glancing at Tony where he stood, stowing his gear behind his desk. He winked at her, drawing a smile. "Someone convinced me to stay."

Tim watched the byplay between the two of them. Between that and the team dinner Friday night, when they'd been sitting together quite cozily, he got the feeling they'd more than mended fences.

"I just need to finish my report, then I'm gonna head out," she went on. "My flight's scheduled for this afternoon."

"Better cancel it," Gibbs said as he swept into the bullpen.

"What?" Kate asked. She glanced at Tony and Tim, who both looked as clueless as she was.

"Cancel what?" Ziva asked from behind them. She'd just arrived, and had no idea what she'd missed.

"Kate's flight," Tony said. He watched as Gibbs sat down behind his desk and starting typing on his computer, clearly not planning on elaborating on his earlier statement.

"Did something happen with the case?" Ziva asked.

"Nope," Gibbs said.

"Then what's going on, if I may ask?" Kate asked, stepping closer to Gibbs' desk.

"You may," came a voice from behind them.

Kate spun around and saw Director Vance standing just outside the bullpen.

"What's going on, Director?" Tim asked.

"I'm reassigning Special Agent Halliday," he said without preamble.

"You're what?" Kate nearly shrieked.

"I'm reassigning you," Vance said, moving into the bullpen. His eyes flicked to Gibbs, then back to her. "It has been suggested that I'm not taking full advantage of your unique skillset."

Kate whipped around to look at Gibbs, but he was still involved in whatever he was doing on his computer. She turned back around to face the Director.

"Where am I being reassigned to?" she asked, though she wasn't sure she really wanted to know. Just her luck, it'd be Ice Station Zebra or something.

"Here," Vance said.

"Here?" Kate asked, taking a step towards the man. "As in Washington DC, here?"

"Yes," Vance said, letting slip a slight smile. "You'll be reporting directly to me as a Special Assistant to the Director. When you're not working on projects for me, you'll make yourself available to the MCRT to assist them with investigations."

Kate stood silently, shocked to the core. She couldn't believe it. In just the space of five minutes, her life had changed irrevocably. Again. She gave a small, wry smile. She should be used to it by now.

"How soon do you need me?"

Vance smiled back. "I'll give you a week to pack up in San Diego. Then I need you back here. We're starting a round of threat assessments that I'd like your input on."

"A week?" Kate asked. She thought about San Diego and her team. She needed to make sure they were taken care of. "Sir, if I may suggest—"

Vance held up a hand. "I've already decided to promote Richter to Special Agent in Charge. He'll take over your team effective immediately."

Kate smiled. "Thanks. Have you told him yet?"

"No, I thought I'd leave that to you. Anything else?" Vance asked. When Kate shook her head, he nodded. "Good. I'll see you in a week."

And with that, he turned and left the bullpen. Kate stood unmoving.

"Are you all right, Kate?" Ziva asked as she stepped forward.

Kate shook her head to clear it and smiled at the other woman. "Yeah, I think so. Believe it or not, I'm getting used to my world being turned upside down on short notice."

"I don't get it," Tony said, moving around his desk to join the two women.

"Not surprising, Tony," Tim said as he joined the group as well.

"Funny, McGoo," Tony said. Turning to the rest of the group, he asked, "Why now? I mean, you've been back for three years. What's changed?"

"Perhaps he had help," Ziva suggested.

As a group, they all turned and looked at Gibbs, who was still typing away on his computer.

"You wouldn't have had anything to do with this, would you, Boss?" Tony asked, moving closer to Gibbs' desk.

"Have anything to do with what, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, not looking up.

"With Kate getting transferred," Tony said. The rest of the team gathered around Tony in front of Gibbs' desk, each one curious about what he'd say next.

"That's a little unfair to Kate, don't you think?" Gibbs asked. "She's earned this promotion. She's an asset to NCIS. One that the Director has decided to take full advantage of."

The choice of words caught Tony's attention. "You set this up." It wasn't a question.

Gibbs' face twitched, the barest hint of a smile forming. Tony caught it, glancing at Kate and his other two teammates to see if they'd seen it as well. Ziva smiled knowingly, while Tim just looked shocked. Kate's expression carried worry, and he knew just why.

"Uh, Boss," he said, trepidation climbing up his spine.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs said, finally looking up.

"What about…what about Rule #12?" he asked, leaning forward slightly and lowering his voice. At this point, the question probably gave it all away, but he'd rather not have his personal life broadcast throughout the building. Especially if Gibbs was about to lower the boom.

Instead, Gibbs rose and smiled. He scooped up a file from his desk and grabbed his coffee cup. "Rule #51, DiNozzo," he said before he swept from the room, leaving the members of his team staring at his wake.

"Rule #51?" Kate asked, turning to Tony.

Tony smiled, relief and triumph showing in equal measure.

"'Sometimes, you're wrong'," Ziva and Tim quoted in unison.

Kate's smile mirrored Tony's. They looked at each other, unable to keep the joy off their faces.

"I guess I got my wish," Tony said unrepentantly.

Kate chuckled. "Lucky you."

Just then, the phone on Tim's desk rang. He practically ran to pick it up, bracing the receiver against his shoulder as he hurriedly scribbled something down. When he'd hung up, he reached behind him and grabbed for his bag.

"Hampton Roads has a dead Petty Officer," he said to the group.

Tony and Ziva moved to their desks and pulled out their gear as Tim shrugged into his trench coat. Kate watched them get ready to go, torn between wanting to go with them and wanting to get back to San Diego to close up her apartment and her office.

Tim and Ziva sped past her, both giving her a huge smile on the way out.

"See you in a week, Kate," Tim offered as he went by.

"If you need help finding a place to live, please call me," Ziva said, laying a hand on Kate's arm as she moved past.

"Thanks," Kate said, returning the smile.

"We'll wait for you in the car, Tony," Tim said.

Then, they were both gone. Kate turned to find Tony standing there, in his trench coat with his backpack slung over his shoulder, smiling like the Cheshire Cat.

"Don't worry about finding a place to stay," he said. "You can stay with me until you decide what you want to do."

Kate softened a bit. "Thanks. I guess it's a good thing I rented a fully furnished apartment. It'll make moving across country a lot easier."

Tony glanced at the elevator, seeing his two teammates disappear inside the car. "Listen, I gotta get going, but…"

"Go," Kate said, laying a hand on his arm. "I'll call you when I get to San Diego."

"You gonna be okay getting to the airport?" he asked.

Kate nodded. "I'll get Abby or Ducky to drive me."

Tony clearly didn't want to go. Finally, he glanced around, to be certain they weren't being watched. Then he leaned down and kissed her. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Tony," Kate said. "I'll see you in a week."

Tony beamed. Then, hoisting his backpack higher on his shoulder, he headed for the elevator.

Kate sighed, looking around at the now empty bullpen. Just a few minutes ago, she was a visitor. Now, it was her home again. She barely caught herself before she let out a squeal of joy. Instead, she headed off for the elevators. There were two more people to share the good news with.

~Finis


End file.
